WITH such bleak news for Norton Motorcycles in recent months, it’s nice to see some good news in the form of an ex-director at the company lining up for a shot at running the troubled firm.
And the really good part is he’s not a gamekeeper, firework salesman or ‘self-made man’, he’s a genuine motorcycle fan with a track record for helping brands to succeed.
His name is Steve Murray and he has this week confirmed that he is throwing his hat in the ring for the ownership of the Norton brand. Murray’s connection with the nameplate is deeper than most ex-directors though, as he was also one of the founding investors in the company and he stands to lose a lot of money if the factory goes under.
After being pushed out of his role as a marketing and operations director early on, Murray remained a shareholder of the iconic firm until the end, mostly in the hope of eventually seeing a return. With the company falling into administration in the new year, Murray joins the long line of people left out of pocket in what is quickly becoming a financial scandal.
Speaking to British Dealer News, Murray said: “I stand to lose £1,170,000,”
Murray’s bid to take over at the firm sees him join what BDO claim is ‘significant volume of interest’ in the Norton name, although Murray’s inside knowledge and his own plan should see him at the front of the queue.
“It is a plan for a fine British brand that is based on its own merits,” he said, adding that the company is a complicated acquisition primarily due to the widely dispersed Intellectual Property rights vested in brands, model names, technologies, tooling, conformities, homologations, and type approvals.
The deadline for registering interest in the brand is Friday 21st February.
