Norton trouble

"former Chief Executive David MacDonald stated "Without doubt anything which existed before 1984 does not belong to the present company. The assets were simply not transferred"

MacDonald was once aptly described to me as a "pathological liar" and had an axe to grind with the Scalbanias who kicked him out of the company. This dubious quote was also used by the NOC as defence but, as a former Norton director wrote in a mail to me:

"Nothing happened in 1984 regarding the Norton companies.
The only thing that might have happened was a name change; NM(1978) became Norton Motors Ltd. The sign on the front of the building didn't get changed for a couple of years after that.

"The Plumstead Papers" is, in my opinion, a load of ill-informed drivel [....]. Relying on Wiki for factual information - really??"

I second that.
 
oldbeezer said:
How about Texas Pacific Group? They saved Ducati a few years back......or..or....how about Harley they bought MV Augusta paid of their dept and then sold 'em for $1
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Maybe Polaris. They rescued Indian from Stellican. Its a little sterile, but they run.
 
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If anyone knows where Stuart Garner is can they let him know to contact John McGuiness. Apparently according to press reports John is looking for him.
 
Yeah, but you’ve not just ‘dumped’ Norton and gone to the completion Scott!

My guess is SG has got the hump with John cos of the above. Which is wrong of course, John is a racer. And if racers don’t think the bike, or the team as a whole, is giving them a chance of winning, they move on. Period.

At last years IOM the whole Norton race endeavour smacked of lack of time, money, effort. If that’s true then of course these top lads are gonna move on. And replacing them will be tough.
 
SG has disappeared off McPints radar more likely because of money owed to him than McPint moving to another team, there are always break clauses in these contracts allowing the rider to move on if results are below a certain level and between seasons.

With McGuinness understood to be chasing unpaid salary
 
Fast Eddie said:
Yeah, but you’ve not just ‘dumped’ Norton and gone to the completion Scott!

My guess is SG has got the hump with John cos of the above. Which is wrong of course, John is a racer. And if racers don’t think the bike, or the team as a whole, is giving them a chance of winning, they move on. Period.

At last years IOM the whole Norton race endeavour smacked of lack of time, money, effort. If that’s true then of course these top lads are gonna move on. And replacing them will be tough.
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I understand
 
Looks like a London sightseeing trip for him. The HMRC second hearing is on the 12th Feb and a public hearing as part of ongoing investigations into the pensions on the 13th.
The notNorton motorcycle twitter feed is worth a look, some good quality comedy on that site.
 
I hope that Norton survives, it would be a very sad day to see it fold after such hard work and dedication. My bike was delivered within 2 months of a £500 deposit and despite a few warrantee issues, I absolutely love riding it and looking at it. I am concerned and would hope that a company representative who we know reads the thread would come on and make a statement. The last I heard was that the crowd funding was pulled and that all the money was coming from one investor. That must surely be in the balance now because of the HMRC situation. Stuart / Simon, time for an update
 
With the twitter and Facebook accounts silent (SGs usual preferred coms methods) and people like McPint going public with his calling out... I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for any announcement on here...
 
I wouldn't wait for the white knight and his horses loaded with cash. The crowdfunding platform probably looked closely at what was to be funded and declined to get involved. Brexit is probably not the only exit that is about to happen. Just a gut feeling.
 
The crowd funding and the announcement of a backer is another nail in the coffin, these were announced after the WUP was issued, suggest that the rules surrounding what you can do once a WUP has been issued are read, and you will see these announcements were not on the advice of accountants. Even if a backer exists, the judge can still wind up a solvent company, had this been 4 or 5 years ago they would have gone voluntarily, those routes to avoid a WUP are no longer allowed.
 
For those of us not familiar with acronyms, a WUP (Winding Up Petition) is a claim filed by a creditor to a court in respect of an unpaid debt of £750 or more. It is usually a last resort after other options have been explored to try to recoup the debt. The petition will ask for the company to be forcibly wound up if the creditor does not pay the debt or come to some sort of arrangement with the creditor in question.
 
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