Abrupt end for popular
TO many, the name Ken Thorne is synonymous with Cardiff City FC.
Having “Ken Thorne’s World of Cars” emblazoned across the front of the Bluebirds’ shirts in the early 2000s was indicative of the rise to prominence of a family firm founded by the Grangetown-born businessman, who has died in Dubai at the age of 75.
But when the firm, which was then one of the region’s major employers, collapsed suddenly in 2002 – months after it got arguably its biggest exposure during Cardiff’s famous televised FA Cup tie against high-flying Leeds United at Ninian Park – the club was robbed of its sponsor, and hundreds of workers lost their jobs.
Many others who had part-paid for vehicles also realised they would not be getting a new car, nor their money back, as a result of the riches-to-rags tale.
Despite the mounting debt, for most observers it was still a very abrupt end for the firm, which at its height boasted a number of showrooms, including ones in Hadfield Road and Penarth Road – close to where Ken was born in March 1941.
Ken completed his first sale in his early 20s – that of his wife’s MG1300 in 1964, for which he pocketed a cool £215.
He opened his major dealership in Leckwith in November 1995.
But by 2002 it had all turned sour, with the business closing in early September. In October 2002 a creditors’ meeting was told the Ken Thorne Group owed more than £5.5m. By April the following year at least five members of the family – including Ken and his wife Maggie – had filed for bankruptcy.
His sons Nigel and Andrew faced criminal proceedings in relation to the collapse of the business. Nigel was jailed for three-and-a-half years by a Southwark Crown Court judge in April 2009 for a series of frauds totalling more than half-a-million pounds, undertaken in an apparent bid to try and save the business.
Andrew was given a suspended jail term after admitting theft.
Years earlier, back in September 2003, Nigel Thorne had reflected on the collapse, telling the South Wales Echo: “It’s a horrible feeling [that we didn’t pay people]. Some people have come up to us and all we can say is sorry.”
A report published by liquidators Deloitte and Touche soon afterwards showed the Thorne empire – which comprised five separate businesses – had accrued debts of £15.4m and a deficit of more than £5.1m.
Speaking to the Echo in the aftermath of the collapse, one former Cardiff car dealer said: “Ken had plenty of bottle. He took on lots of things that people wouldn’t have touched. He took chances and went out on a limb on a number of occasions.”
But another insisted: “He was loyal to staff and they were loyal to him. It was a sad day for the industry when Ken left Cardiff.”