nick sutton
02-19-2012, 11:50 AM
Receivership - 30 years ago today
Sir Kenneth Cork arrived at the DeLorean factory in Dunmurry early morning of the 19th February 1982. His mission was to announce in person, the statement that was to be broadcast from the House of Commons at 11.00 am. This was that DMCL in Northern Ireland was to enter Receivership.
He was met at the factory by Shaun Harte the most senior of the Directors then on site – two other Senior Directors were in the US having travelled a week or so earlier; now with John DeLorean, planning the future, working on the response to the announcement to be made in Parliament
Sir Kenneth gathered the senior management and Union officials in the Training Building to make his speech which was brief. He hoped that there would be a future for the company but at a reduced scale of operations.
In the DeLorean offices in Coventry – three hundred miles away – we were unaware of the announcement made by Sir Kenneth.
Someone brought in their radio so we could listen to the planned announcement in Parliament by James Prior Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. After prayers in the House of Commons the business started. Reading of The Dogs (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill came first on the agenda of the day – as it should of course. Then James Prior stood to speak.
He announced that DMCL would enter Receivership – at least it wasn’t closure as we’d thought – a huge relief. That would come eight months later. Within hours we were asked to asset label the desks, photocopy machine and anything that had value.
Photographs of the DeLorean Car on the office wall disappeared within minutes, anything of value to the Receiver remained to closure.
There would be a silence and lack of activity for a few weeks whilst we recorded our activity over the last three years compiling data for the Receiver on what we had spent and to whom – records I hold to this day.
But what would happen next?
Nick Sutton
Sir Kenneth Cork arrived at the DeLorean factory in Dunmurry early morning of the 19th February 1982. His mission was to announce in person, the statement that was to be broadcast from the House of Commons at 11.00 am. This was that DMCL in Northern Ireland was to enter Receivership.
He was met at the factory by Shaun Harte the most senior of the Directors then on site – two other Senior Directors were in the US having travelled a week or so earlier; now with John DeLorean, planning the future, working on the response to the announcement to be made in Parliament
Sir Kenneth gathered the senior management and Union officials in the Training Building to make his speech which was brief. He hoped that there would be a future for the company but at a reduced scale of operations.
In the DeLorean offices in Coventry – three hundred miles away – we were unaware of the announcement made by Sir Kenneth.
Someone brought in their radio so we could listen to the planned announcement in Parliament by James Prior Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. After prayers in the House of Commons the business started. Reading of The Dogs (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill came first on the agenda of the day – as it should of course. Then James Prior stood to speak.
He announced that DMCL would enter Receivership – at least it wasn’t closure as we’d thought – a huge relief. That would come eight months later. Within hours we were asked to asset label the desks, photocopy machine and anything that had value.
Photographs of the DeLorean Car on the office wall disappeared within minutes, anything of value to the Receiver remained to closure.
There would be a silence and lack of activity for a few weeks whilst we recorded our activity over the last three years compiling data for the Receiver on what we had spent and to whom – records I hold to this day.
But what would happen next?
Nick Sutton