Norton – Was it a fraud from the start? Where has all the money gone?

Article by John Hogan - Editor of SuperBike Magazine. You’re about to read the first in a series of interviews relating to the Norton story. The story is not a good one for the UK motorcycle industry.

I first wrote about Norton in SuperBike magazine back in 2012, expressing my concerns. Stuart Garner called me a couple of weeks later and tried to give me the hairdryer treatment. He sounded like a posh schoolkid that had hidden his marbles in his bag and then blamed me for stealing them. My doubts of Stuart Garner’s ability to run a motorcycle brand like Norton have never gone away.

The mainstream Norton story relates primarily to pension fraud, you can read about that in detail in the Guardian. If you’re tired of reading, you’ll also be able to watch various ITV pieces on the same subject. I played a small part in helping those mainstream journalists understand the oily nuts and bolts side of the Norton business. During my research I’ve spoken to current and former employees, from the shop floor to the boardroom. A former accountant, Stuart Garner’s former PA, a burned business partner, an investor, multiple Norton buyers, Norton franchised dealers in the UK and on the other side of the planet, various Norton racers and Mr Stuart James Garner himself. Everything I’ve written is the result of speaking to the people involved, some were happy to be named and others weren’t. That’s their choice and I can respect that. It makes sense to me to start the story in 2008, when Stuart Garner bought into Spondon Engineering, prior to buying Norton and bringing it back to the UK.

You can read each of these interviews and make your own mind up as to whether Stuart Garner made a mistake thanks to Brexit and has only recently ran into trouble. Or is it possible that he’s planned every single element of the largest frauds the UK motorcycle industry has ever seen, and he began doing so back in 2008?

www.superbike.co.uk

Ex-Norton CEO ordered to repay £14 million

The former CEO of Norton Motorcycles, Stuart Garner, has been ordered to repay approximately £14 million to three pensions funds he controlled in a ruling by the Pensions Ombudman. 

As the BMF has previously reported, Mr Garner failed to appear at a public hearing held by the Pensions Ombudsman on February 13th to investigate complaints made about the three pension schemes – the Commando 2012 Pension Scheme, Donington MC Pension Scheme and Dominator 2012 Pension Scheme – which were affected by the collapse of Norton. It is understood that money belonging to more than 200 savers was lost. 

The Pensions Ombudsman upheld a number of complaints, and ruled that Mr Garner “acted dishonestly and in breach of his duty” and that maladministration had occurred. He was ordered to pay the money back with interest, and payments to recognise the “distress and inconvenience” of the applicants who brought the complaints were also ordered.   

This is not the first ruling the Pensions Ombudsman has made regarding Mr Garner. In an earlier ruling about the Commando 2012 pension scheme, the Ombudsman sharply criticised Mr Garner as being in “dereliction of his duties as trustee” and said that “I find his behaviour inexcusable.”  

www.bmf.co.uk

Norton Motorcycles ex-boss Stuart Garner pleads guilty to illegal pension investments

Stuart Garner, the former owner of Norton Motorcycles, has admitted to illegally investing an estimated £11m from the firm’s pension scheme back into the business.

Garner was the sole trustee of three contribution schemes (Dominator 2012, Commando 2012 and Donington MC) that invested in Norton. Between 2012 and 2013, 227 people invested in the scheme in return for preference shares.

Under the employer-related investment (ERI) rules, no more than 5% of the total value of the schemes should have been invested, however each scheme was invested in Norton in full.

Subject to certain exceptions, it is a criminal offence to invest more than 5% of the current market value of scheme resources in ERIs, so Garner’s actions were passed to the court by The Pensions Regulator (TPR).

www.motorcyclenews.com

Ex-Norton CEO Stuart Garner is ordered to pay back missing millions

 

THE former owner, CEO and Svengali at the helm of Norton Motorcycle until earlier this year has been told he must pay back the £14m that is missing from company’s employee retirement fund.

The news comes after Garner had the rug well and truly pulled from under him, after he originally tried to appeal the decision. Now though, the courts have refused his request, effectively pushing the one-time firework salesman is being pushed closer than ever to potential personal bankruptcy – he is already the subject of a personal bankruptcy petition from Leicester City Council.

www.visordown.com

Norton Motorcycles: Chinese firm bought rights to 961 engine platform

Norton sold the rights to the 961 engine platform before the company went into administration, it has been revealed.

Chinese company Jinlang, who make scooters and 125cc machines, say they did the deal with Norton’s owner Stuart Garner at the end of 2019. Metro Bank called in the administrators on January 29 after a search for investors proved unsuccessful.

But Jinlang say the deal for the 961 engine platform, including all of the engine tooling, is not part of the administration process as the deal was already done.

There are photographs of the Jinlang Science and Technology Co LTD company director, Huacong Wu, signing a contract with Garner at the end of December.

www.motorcyclenews.com

Motorcycle Live visit - Monday 6th Dec 2021

 

There was no bike show in 2020 - aaagh! So here in 2021 - we were really pleased that Motorcycle Live is back in the calendar! 3 of us (Jeff, Mike & me) drove (cheers Jeff!) up to Brum on Sunday & spent the evening at a reasonably comfortable Premier Inn. Din dins was at TGIF.

On (a cold & rainy) Monday morning, after a stop off at McDonald's for breakfast, we set off for the NEC. Car parking was a nightmare - as several of their car parks were blocked off!

The MCL bike show was smaller than usual - COVID I suppose... Some missing exhibitors, some reduced size stands. That said, we were really glad to go up! COVID security was well thought out - which was good.

My favourite was the Norton stand, great to see them back (no thanks to Stuart Garner, but HUGE thanks to TVS). Honestly, look at the V4CR - what a thing of beauty! No price yet, but with all that CNC & carbon - it's not gonna be cheap...

Wonderful to see BSA are back too - well done to Mahindra for investing in this classic marque!

MCL 2021 Photos HERE

What's the latest news regarding Norton Motorcycles?

The question of who is going to buy Norton appears to have been answered: TVS, a large-volume Indian motorcycle producer, has bought Norton in a £16m cash deal. Jobs have been secured and, TVS claims, the future of Norton is now secure.

In case you've missed any of SuperBike's coverage of the Norton debacle so far, we've rounded it all up here. 

Click here to sign the Change.org petition to call for a government investigation into Stuart Garner's conduct & dealings with regards Norton.

SuperBike Magazine

Norton Motorcycles faces collapse as the firm enters administration

Norton Motorcycles have been placed in administration as last-minute attempts to save the business appear to have failed to secure the backing needed to continue trading. The firm launched a share scheme in November with a view to raising the cash required to fulfil their order book, but the lure of a single investor saw the offer withdrawn while Norton attempted to construct a deal that could underpin the business’ critical cash-flow problems.

With echoes of the near-collapse of the business in 2012 when cash-flow issues very nearly sank the firm just four years after businessman Stuart Garner bought the rights back from American ownership under Kenny Dreer, it appears that the same problem has finally pushed the business past breaking point as Metro Bank appointed administrators BDO.

Here are a couple of interesting articles by: Morebikes & The Guardian on Norton, it's recent history & fall. Some serious questions have to be asked - this company had everything going for it - yet it has crashed. Bike manufacturers - take note!

www.motorcyclenews.com