£9.8million in compensation to be delivered to Norton pension victims after more than a decade

Over 200 people who invested in three failed Norton pension schemes back in 2012 and 2013 are to finally gain access to their share of £9.8million in compensation by the end of August.

An estimated £11 million was invested into the Dominator 2012, Commando 2012 and Donington MC pension schemes, of which disgraced former Norton Motorcycles owner, Stuart Garner was the sole trustee.

This was split across 227 investors, who pledged their money in return for preference shares in the business. These shares were issued by Norton Motorcycle Holdings Ltd, for which Garner was both the director and majority shareholder.

Under the guidance, no more than 5% of the total value of the schemes should have been used, however most of the money in each scheme was invested in the company.

• Related: TVS-owned Norton announce end of deliveries to Garner era customers

Norton Motorcycle Holdings Ltd then went into administration in 2020 and, two years later, Garner was handed an eight-month prison sentence suspended for two years after pleading guilty to illegal pension investments.  

“We’re very pleased that scheme members’ hard-earned pension savings have been rightly restored,” Chief Customer Officer at the Fraud Compensation Fund (FCF), Sara Protheroe said. 

“This has been a complex and distressing case for scheme members, and we sympathise with those who have been waiting a long time for redress.“

The money was secured by Dalriada Trustees, previously appointed by The Pensions Regulator. This came via compensation paid by the FCF, who covered the financial loss of the victims, as well as the costs required to investigate the case.  

“Dalriada is delighted to have achieved this outcome for members of the Norton pension schemes,” Director and Chair of the Dalriada Board, Tom Lukic said. “We understand how harrowing it is for those who believe they have lost their pension savings, and we are pleased to have been able to secure benefits for those members of the Norton schemes, as a result of the FCF compensation.”

The Work and Pensions Select Committee opened an inquiry in 2023 to look at what could be learned from the Norton pension schemes case.