More than 200 people will receive payments from the Fraud Compensation Fund in relation to the Norton Motorcycles scam.
The FCF announced today that it was paying out to members who lost out when their savings were unlawfully invested into Norton Motorcycles Holdings, then operated by Stuart Garner.
Garner was the sole trustee of three pension schemes and invested nearly £11m of their assets into Norton, of which he was also chief executive.
Garner was given an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, in March 2022 after he pleaded guilty to three counts of breaching employer-related investment rules.
He was also banned from being a pension trustee by the Pensions Regulator.
Dalriada Trustees, which has overseen the three Norton schemes since the Pensions Ombudsman intervened in 2019, has administered the payments through Standard Life accounts.
Tom Lukic, director and chair of the Dalriada board, 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 FCF is truly a lifeline for victims and this outcome gives reassurance to others in the same position, who have suffered uncertainty for a number of years, that there is now some light at the end of the tunnel.”
Parliamentary enquiry
The Work and Pensions Select Committee, chaired by Sir Stephen Timms, launched an enquiry into the Norton case last year.
Its work was cut short by the general election before it could publish a final report, but in a letter to the then-work and pensions secretary Mel Stride in May, Sir Stephen outlined several findings and policy questions.
Among these was a proposal that the Pensions Regulator be given regulatory oversight of pension administrators, as the company initially appointed by Norton later admitted having no experience of catering for occupational pension schemes.
The letter also asked what changes could be made to the FCF to make it easier for claims to be made.
‘Complex and distressing case’
Sara Protheroe, chief customer officer at the FCF, said: “We’re very pleased that scheme members’ hard-earned pension savings have been rightly restored. 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.
“We hope this is welcome news for all those who have been impacted by this case, and also provides reassurance to all members that we are continuing to make progress on existing claims.”
Since November 2020, the FCF said it had paid out around £50m in compensation to 28 schemes. It expects to receive more than 100 further claims with a potential value of over £400m, according to data as of 31 March 2024.
Further reading
TPR prosecutes Garner after scheme members lose nearly £11m (30 October 2023)
Ex-Norton owner given suspended sentence over missing pensions (31 March 2022)
