Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms New road to success

That's cobblers.

Well, it helps to stimulate discussion and get more in depth replies from members who know a whole lot more than I do, of course I want to see Morgan go on and on. They are like a breath of fresh air in an increasingly grey world for cars. I just wish in hind sight I had bought the Aero Super Sport when I had the chance.

Maybe but what you are looking at here is a classic case of a family business which a few generations down the line has none of the family interested in it and wanting to sell out. So in comes an outside manager who ramps up the short term profitability by jacking up prices and thus getting the best deal for the family. Sure they have retained some ownership, likely out of sentimentality. But the boss is now Italian and the company will be driven hard to get financial returns.

All sorts of possible routes from applying the Morgan label to aftershave etc to making the trad in India. Thats the route I would take as a businessman.

Prices have been ramping up since 2003 Howard when family owned, but it has been a bit dramatic since Charle's exit over the last few years. I still wish them well though.

Em

+1

Howard, Chester.G.

Are you both serious ? Or just trying to get a rise ? I am not writing this in anger but because I think the comments you make are cheap jibes and show a lack of respect for the staff and management old/new of Morgan. Also of the people on this Forum, it's called TalkMorgan for a reason. I am not certain they reflect well you you earlier but I have already said that bit above.

Is the UK specialist car industry going down the tubes ?

Recently under Geely Lotus have released some competitive new cars for the first time in ages. They are showing signs of serious engagement with their traditional paying customer base again. Confidence is returning to the dealer channel.

Caterham are in rude health. 2017 was a near record for them and they took £1.15m investment to grow internationally.
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/caterham-ceo-‘i’d-love-produce-aluminium-chassis-seven’

Aston Martin managed a somewhat successful IPO and have a better than ever chance of growth compared to years of losses under their part time (but dedicated and honourable) family ownership previously. The car range is about to get an SUV which has traditionally almost doubled figures (Porsche, Bentley etc). The DB11 has made a massive number of conquest sales from other brands. The new V8 model looks like a winner if initial sales are to be believed. Who helped them again? Could Aston have continued, yes but would they have got the focus and management support to put them where they are today. Hiring Ulrich Bez was a big thing and could not have been done without II I suspect.

McLaren have exploded onto the road car market in a short time and are now justifiably being compared to Ferrari's and other ultra/super cars. 2018 was another record sales year. https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/mclaren-confirms-another-record-year-2018

Ariel have made a consistent and growing business with the car, bike and off-road thingy. I don't see them going away any time soon.

BAC have continued to find customers for their track day lunatic.

Ultima remain in business with constant development of their limited product range.

CCM, Norton and Trimuph all seem to be finding customers for their bikes. Triumph are in rude health and still manufacturing in the UK.

Ricardo?
Hewland?

David Brown has made it clear that people are willing to gamble with their own money at very high end with the factory near Silverstone.

Morgan? As I understand it the new chassis has been financed from existing revenues and not out of the new II pot. They hired in new staff from Lotus, excellent decision. They executed the launch like a company ten times their size at Geneva. The press have covered it very well. Their revenues are buoyant under the existing management structure so if your jibe is that things will slip due to only profit focus you might like to wonder about that one ?

I hold my breath on TVR.

Frontline Developments remain around selling correctly assembled MGB's with nice engines.

That's before the discussion around F1 and FormulaE comes into it. I think a good chunk of the engineering comes from the UK?

So the Italian investors, lets discuss them. Lets not use the word owners as they actually act like consultant directors and money lenders. In England that seems to have become a dirty term but in truth they are taking a bigger gamble. Would you give all your money to someone you didn't know that well? They are a family owned business not an anonymous multi-national organisation. They have history in speciality automotive. Some might say more than the Morgan family, Charles excepted.

Some negative remarks have been made about Ducati. Would someone care to expand on them. They took the neat but limited company as it was in 2005 and built it with the existing team in the same factory until 2012 when they had the best year ever. Is that scraping a profit or building a profit. Yes they got their reward for this but did the staff or customers suffer in some way? If profits were not involved in daily life then most of us would not own a Morgan now.
https://blog.motorcycle.com/2013/03/12/manufacturers/ducati/ducati-announces-record-sales-in-2012/

They then secured its long term future by placing it with VW Group through Audi/Lambo. Hardly selling it off to the death star and sacking the staff is it? Are the bikes they are producing today garbage ? Are they in a different market position to where they were before ?

As for the aftershave comments, the existing management have done all of that already, whats left for the new team, themed wooden Pasta

So if you are going to sling rocks then pull up your keyboard and justify them?

Not angry, just disappointed.

Nice post Alistair.
Nick

+1
HB

Excellent post. Alistair. I think you might have forgotten to mention Ginetta, Quaife and MBE? 3 more small UK automotive companies that punch way above their weight. There are probably more.

MMC's strategy is provably right for them, and the new car sounds like a great development. I am a bit concerned that they are leaving the lower end of the market to people like Caterham, but they have obviously thought about it.

If InvestIndustrial's strategy with MMC is to do a Ducati and help develop them into an attractive proposition for a future owner, then all to the good. II will see a good return on their investment and MMC will be in an even better position. It makes no difference to us who owns the shares after all.

Nicely put and well reasoned Alistair.