Stanley William Willson, MBE (May 1927[1] – 25 December 2003[citation needed]), Chartered Accountant, was chairman of Aston Martin from 1972 to 1975.
In February 1972 Willson, "an ebullient entrepreneur"[2] along with other investors paid £101[3] to buy Aston Martin's business, then reputed to be losing more than £1 million a year, from David Brown Limited which was experiencing its own financial troubles.[1] The new owner was Company Developments his 4-year-old Solihull investment concern chaired by Willson who then became chairman of Aston Martin.[4]
He appointed one of his co-directors of Company Developments, Geoffrey Fletcher, a property and building expert, as managing director and mechanical engineer, Harry Pollack, as technical director. Mr David Brown accepted presidency of Aston Martin with a seat on the board of directors. At the time Aston Martin had 500 employees.[1] David Brown was later reported to have paid off Aston Martin's debts thought to be about £5 million.
Three months after Willson's firm took control a re-invigorated Aston Martin brought out two new models and the business was recovering.[citation needed] But in July 1974 a request for state aid of £500,000 was turned down. Mr Robert Maxwell offered to provide £100,000 of the required funds. Aston's 500 workers agreed to forgo wage rises for 12 months and they were given the opportunity to participate in a share-buying scheme. The shop floor gave management a unanimous vote of confidence. The reason for cash flow difficulties was given as California's stringent exhaust emission tests halting Aston Martin's US sales.[5] Owners were reported to have sent in cheques for £1,000 and more. Mr Robert Maxwell, again contesting (unsuccessfully) the local seat in Parliament, was reported driving a newly acquired Aston Martin.[6]
A few days later it was revealed another, second, request for government funds had been for £1,250,000[7] but three months later on New Year's Eve it was announced on the front pages of national press that while a much smaller government loan of £600,000 had been approved besides being inadequate it had been offered on the unacceptable condition that US sales would be handled by British Leyland's distributors. The same front-page report noted directors had requested the appointment of a receiver and Aston Martin would cease production and go into voluntary liquidation.[8][9]
The receiver sold the business as a going concern in March 1975 for about £1,050,000 to a consortium led by Californian Peter Sprague (chairman of National Semiconductor) with Canadian George Minden and Jeremy Turner a London businessman.[10][11]
Lengthy and public wrangling with Sprague over price arose from Willson's concern, over-ridden by the receiver, to achieve a better price for the Aston Martin business. At the offer price of £1,050,000 unsecured creditors would (and did) receive less than 10 pence in the pound and his own Company Developments would receive only £500,000 in repayment of a £750,000 loan.[12]
Himself and his wife Rachel Willson were two of only 10 survivors of the 1957 Aquila Airways Solent crash Near Chessell, Isle of Wight, England.
Referencesedit
^ abcDavid Brown sells Aston Martin. The Times, Friday, 18 Feb 1972; pg. 15; Issue 58405
^Motoring. Stuart Marshall. The Times, Thursday, 4 Apr 1974; pg. 37; Issue 59056
^Modified offer 'only hope left for Aston'. The Times, Wednesday, 19 Mar 1975; pg. 22; Issue 59348
^Third Aston offer by Mr Sprague. The Times, Saturday, 22 Mar 1975; pg. 17; Issue 59351
^Aston Martin requests state aid for cooperative with worker-directors. The Times, Tuesday, 24 Sep 1974; pg. 17; Issue 59200
^£1.25m loan asked for by Aston Martin. The Times, Monday, 30 Sep 1974; pg. 19; Issue 59205
^Closure of Aston Martin firm today. The Times, Monday, 30 Dec 1974; pg. 1; Issue 59281
^"Aston Martin sports car makers hit by hard times". google newspapers. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
^Aston chairman's Benn challenge. The Times , Wednesday, 12 Mar 1975; pg. 20; Issue 59342
^Aston Martin bid final, consortium says. The Times, Friday, 4 Apr 1975; pg. 19; Issue 59361
^Parting protest over Aston Martin deal. The Times, Saturday, 12 Apr 1975; pg. 17; Issue 59368
January 01, 1970
william, willson, businessman, stanley, william, willson, 1927, december, 2003, citation, needed, chartered, accountant, chairman, aston, martin, from, 1972, 1975, february, 1972, willson, ebullient, entrepreneur, along, with, other, investors, paid, aston, ma. Stanley William Willson MBE May 1927 1 25 December 2003 citation needed Chartered Accountant was chairman of Aston Martin from 1972 to 1975 In February 1972 Willson an ebullient entrepreneur 2 along with other investors paid 101 3 to buy Aston Martin s business then reputed to be losing more than 1 million a year from David Brown Limited which was experiencing its own financial troubles 1 The new owner was Company Developments his 4 year old Solihull investment concern chaired by Willson who then became chairman of Aston Martin 4 He appointed one of his co directors of Company Developments Geoffrey Fletcher a property and building expert as managing director and mechanical engineer Harry Pollack as technical director Mr David Brown accepted presidency of Aston Martin with a seat on the board of directors At the time Aston Martin had 500 employees 1 David Brown was later reported to have paid off Aston Martin s debts thought to be about 5 million Three months after Willson s firm took control a re invigorated Aston Martin brought out two new models and the business was recovering citation needed But in July 1974 a request for state aid of 500 000 was turned down Mr Robert Maxwell offered to provide 100 000 of the required funds Aston s 500 workers agreed to forgo wage rises for 12 months and they were given the opportunity to participate in a share buying scheme The shop floor gave management a unanimous vote of confidence The reason for cash flow difficulties was given as California s stringent exhaust emission tests halting Aston Martin s US sales 5 Owners were reported to have sent in cheques for 1 000 and more Mr Robert Maxwell again contesting unsuccessfully the local seat in Parliament was reported driving a newly acquired Aston Martin 6 A few days later it was revealed another second request for government funds had been for 1 250 000 7 but three months later on New Year s Eve it was announced on the front pages of national press that while a much smaller government loan of 600 000 had been approved besides being inadequate it had been offered on the unacceptable condition that US sales would be handled by British Leyland s distributors The same front page report noted directors had requested the appointment of a receiver and Aston Martin would cease production and go into voluntary liquidation 8 9 The receiver sold the business as a going concern in March 1975 for about 1 050 000 to a consortium led by Californian Peter Sprague chairman of National Semiconductor with Canadian George Minden and Jeremy Turner a London businessman 10 11 Lengthy and public wrangling with Sprague over price arose from Willson s concern over ridden by the receiver to achieve a better price for the Aston Martin business At the offer price of 1 050 000 unsecured creditors would and did receive less than 10 pence in the pound and his own Company Developments would receive only 500 000 in repayment of a 750 000 loan 12 Himself and his wife Rachel Willson were two of only 10 survivors of the 1957 Aquila Airways Solent crash Near Chessell Isle of Wight England References edit a b c David Brown sells Aston Martin The Times Friday 18 Feb 1972 pg 15 Issue 58405 Motoring Stuart Marshall The Times Thursday 4 Apr 1974 pg 37 Issue 59056 Modified offer only hope left for Aston The Times Wednesday 19 Mar 1975 pg 22 Issue 59348 Third Aston offer by Mr Sprague The Times Saturday 22 Mar 1975 pg 17 Issue 59351 Aston Martin requests state aid for cooperative with worker directors The Times Tuesday 24 Sep 1974 pg 17 Issue 59200 Business Diary The Times Thursday 26 Sep 1974 pg 21 Issue 59202 1 25m loan asked for by Aston Martin The Times Monday 30 Sep 1974 pg 19 Issue 59205 Closure of Aston Martin firm today The Times Monday 30 Dec 1974 pg 1 Issue 59281 Aston Martin sports car makers hit by hard times google newspapers Retrieved 9 September 2021 Aston chairman s Benn challenge The Times Wednesday 12 Mar 1975 pg 20 Issue 59342 Aston Martin bid final consortium says The Times Friday 4 Apr 1975 pg 19 Issue 59361 Parting protest over Aston Martin deal The Times Saturday 12 Apr 1975 pg 17 Issue 59368 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Willson businessman amp oldid 1156354174, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
