Charles Morgan has issued a full statement regarding his removal as the head of the family-owned Morgan Motor Company.
Published on his personal blog, Morgan says: "As has been widely reported, I have been asked to leave the Morgan Motor Company by the board. It is a sad decision that I am appealing; I remain a major shareholder in Morgan.
"I’m proud to say I leave with the company’s annual production volumes double what they were at the start of my tenure, with new export markets such as China opened to the company. Morgan remains a small but successful family firm.
"I’d like to be clear that I am not a tycoon but a family man – I inherited a company not wealth – and unexpectedly leaving its employment will be a hardship for myself and my family. Being asked to leave the company that bears my name is also extremely personally distressing. That is made more painful as today marks 10 years since my father, Peter Morgan, died and I feel him in spirit with me in this dispute.
"However my primary concern is completely for the company I have spent 30 years helping to build, and specifically for Morgan’s employees, who I hold in the highest regard. I want nothing but success for Morgan Motor Company in the future and remain committed to this goal.
"I am very grateful for the expressions of support received on twitter and elsewhere, particularly from the employees of Morgan.
"I will be making no further statements for the time being."
Morgan Motor Company has also released the following statement: "Whilst there is an internal process being carried out on an employment issue relating to Charles Morgan the company is duty bound not to make any comment other than the press release which is in the public domain.
"We will be issuing a further statement once the internal employment issue is finalised."
Following a statement from the firm earlier this week, Morgan Motor Company also confirmed to Autocar that Charles Morgan "is no longer involved in the running of the business" but that he remained as a shareholder in the business, which is 100 per cent family owned.
Charles Morgan has also told Autocar that "I am appealing the decision". He added: "As a family member I think I should have been consulted about this press release because it suggests that it comes from all of the family shareholders.
"It fails to explain what the decisions were back in January. It confuses growth in volumes with growth in sales and doesn't suggest whether we are responding to either. And it also suggests that I resisted overseas markets and global expansion when I was the one going abroad."
Morgan subsequently issued a further update to its official statement. It read: "The Morgan family recognises the management contribution that Charles has made to the family business as Strategy Director, and confirm that he remains a shareholder.
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Business impact
Whoever is right (and I suspect that there is some validity to the arguments on both sides), letting this become a very public mess is a disaster for the business.
Buyers of Morgans are now placing their deposits in escrow accounts.
That will kill Morgan's working capital as fast as this family squabble kills their reputation. They need to sort this out asap and, more importantly, convince the world that it is sorted permanently and not just festering for the future.
John Harvey Jones might have been wrong back in the Troubleshooter days but he'd be banging heads together if he was around now, and he'd be right to do so.
Steve Morris is actually a
Steve Morris is actually a family friend to my family, I've only met him once and he seemed like a sound bloke. His dad was a gypo btw...
steven211 wrote: Steve Morris
Why bother posting shite like that?
There's more shite being
There's more shite being posted from both the pro- and anti-Charles Morgan sides.
Dilutions of Grandeur
I think it's rather obvious to see what is going on here: First, there clearly is some sort of personal conflict and animosity between Charles Morgan and the rest of the company executives. Perhaps not all but certainly enough of them and the ones directly at the top. I would bet those who support him are keeping very low profiles and keeping their mouths shut.
If I'm correct it means that down the road when this gets resolved and if Charles Morgan is victorious, he will have no choice but to clean house. This means large disruptions in the company and possible trouble in the day to day operations of the company. It may also lead too long drawn out legal proceedings that could impede the progress of the company and even affect potential investment opportunities.
The second part of the problem is very unclear however: Charles Morgan's relationship to the rest of the family members. I do not know the break down of owners/share holders but it is implied that the rest of the family does not support Charles. Again this is very unclear too me and I have not read any statements to rebut or support that position.
Either way this could be the straw that breaks the camels back here. There is nothing worse than a family fight and if it is made public, all the worse. I certainly hope this isn't the case but when money is the real subject, anything is possible.
Should Morgan expand into new markets, segments and models: Yes it should, but, and it's a BIG BUT, it should do it in the traditional Morgan way and in the traditional Morgan time frame. If, as it has been suggested, Morgan is trying to expand quickly to capitalize on the current warm feelings and love of Morgan cars today, then I fear dreams are nothing but dilutions of grandeur and desire to be more than you are will lead to the death of the company.
Best of luck to Charles Morgan, I hope he can save his company.