The Doors Are Closed
Production stopped at Norton Motorcycles. The company was still technically in operation despite the fact that it had entered administration not long ago. Well, now, according to Leicestershire Live, the factory is no longer in operation and concrete blocks have been placed at the entrances to the bike headquarters in Castle Donington, Leicestershire.
All this comes after the company failed to pay some of its debts. It appears as though the company was seriously mismanaged for the last several years, and the owner, Stuart Garner is at the heart of the matter. According to The Guardian, Garner did not appear at a pensions hearing. The hearing was called for due to accusations of Garner not returning employees’ pensions when they were due.
Garner was the trustee of the pension funds. When workers wanted to start withdrawing the pensions, they never received the money. Garner worked with some individuals who set up fraudulent dealings with employees’ retirement money. Some of the individuals involved, including a Simon Colfer who helped sell the pension scheme, have been convicted of fraud. While The Guardian failed to reach Garner for comment, it noted that in the past he has said he did not know about the fraudulent activity surrounding pensions. He considers himself a victim in this situation.
It’s clear that the Norton Motorcycles story is not yet over. There’s a lot of information to dig through and what appears to be quite a lot of fraudulent activity and dubious (at best) financial dealings. It will be interesting to see what happens with Norton and with Garner.