Norton creditors’ new hope
Statement of Affairs suggests customers could get money back
‘£17.8m is estimated to be available to repay creditors’ CLAIMS EX-BOSS STUART GARNER
Stuart Garner’s Statement of Affairs in regard to Norton Motorcycles UK Ltd. (subsequently renamed NMUL Realisations Ltd.) has been published, with the estimated figures suggesting there will be enough money to pay back all of their creditors.
A statement of affairs must be filed by a director when a company goes into administration and lays out the financial position of the company. The statement can contain estimated figures, however those estimates should be as accurate as possible based on the information available. Garner’s statement was filed in April (but only just released publicly) and based on the estimated figures included within, suggests that if all the assets are realised then there will actually be a financial surplus once all the creditors are paid.
The statement estimates that that sales of various assets to TVS (as previously reported) will account for £14.1m, which combined with other assets but less the amount owed to Metro Bank, means they estimate £17.8m will be available to preferential creditors. With those creditors’ claims totalling just £3256, that means £17.8m is estimated to be available to pay unsecured creditors – i.e. those who paid deposits on motorcycles plus others, including HMRC.
The statement estimates the total unsecured creditors to be £12.9m, with around £3.4m of that from deposit holders (according to BDO’s last report). That means, should all the values be realised, the deposit holders should expect the return of all their money in full. Once all the creditors have been paid off, it’s estimated that £4.9 will remain in surplus to pay to shareholders. A question remains over how long that will take. The £14.1m deal with TVS is done, but the sales of other assets could take some time. It’s also worth noting that this report was not created by administrators, BDO, so for the latest financial statement as well as their proposals, we’ll need to wait for the next creditor’s report, which is due in early September.