Matchless seeks investors
Fancy owning a stake in a revived British motorcycle manufacturer?
To date, Matchless has already invested £1.4m in the company and the result is two prototype models - the Matrix X Reloaded and the TT. But the firm needs a further £5m to start production and that's where the mini bonds come in. Matchless has hired a firm called Karadoo to effectively crowd fund the rebirth of the motorcycle business. Matchless is issuing Matchless Mini Bonds with a minimum value of £10,000 to potential investors with a guaranteed annual return of six per cent. And a few sweeteners that include lunch at Goodwood. So what's the catch?
At the moment, Matchless claims to have a lot of interest in its new models, albeit with fewer than 10 firm orders on its books. The firm is aiming to start production of the new bikes in 2017, which will be built by Onyx Race Engineering in Littlehampton, and is aiming on making 177 bikes in the first year, raising to 250 by 2020.
The basic price of the X reloaded will be £80,000 and the TT £40,000, although they can be up specified at extra cost. So if it gets all its £5m investment, Matchless will need to pay out every year to Mini Bond holders, as well as build all the bikes. That's quite a hard ask, especially considering the price point. To put this into context Ariel, which builds the Ace for £23-£28,000, sells 35 bikes a year. Norton, on the other hand, makes around 500 a year of its circa £15,000 Commando range. The recently reborn Brough Superior SS100 will start production this year at a cost of £45,700.
According to Karadoo, there are a large number of investors interested in a Matchless Mini Bond and it is confident of finding enough investors to cover the money required. If you still fancy a punt all the information can be viewed at Karadoo before the predicted closing date of July this year.
If Pebble can raise cash through kick starter for its production lines cant Matchless ... or at least get enough pre-orders to get a loan.
At the moment credit is cheap so 6% P/A return represents a high risk investment.
Shouldn't Matchlesses be big singles?
Shouldn't Matchlesses be big singles?
Yes generally they were, they did make some 500 and 600 twins, the 600 CRS was their answer to the Boneville, however although it handled much better than any Triumph ever did the power was not there with the incumbent weight of the frame; a nice bike none the less.
mmmm....i think I could do better by just putting the £10k into my pension pot and start by getting some tax back, and try my luck with all those established blue chip companies returning me a few percent growth
mmmm....i think I could do better by just putting the £10k into my pension pot and start by getting some tax back, and try my luck with all those established blue chip companies returning me a few percent growth
£6k being more than £0
mmmm....i think I could do better by just putting the £10k into my pension pot and start by getting some tax back, and try my luck with all those established blue chip companies returning me a few percent growth
£6k being more than £0
king mental.Shouldn't Matchlesses be big singles?
Yes generally they were, they did make some 500 and 600 twins, the 600 CRS was their answer to the Boneville, however although it handled much better than any Triumph ever did the power was not there with the incumbent weight of the frame; a nice bike none the less.
And of course:
In fact the G50 was an AJS 7R with a Matchless badge and larger capacity. The 7R was 350cc and that engine derived from the 1920s AJS K7/K10 then R7 engine, which became the 7R when they moved the magneto and made that shaped timing cover.
You can invest in syndicated property loans which are at least 10% interest, often 15%, and sometimes as high as 20%. And they're secured against the property you're investing in, so worst case scenario you'll end up with some property which either equals or exceeds the amount of money you put in.
6% and secured against pretty much nothing is a terrible deal.
Brough Superior used the Model X engine in the SS80 (although it's stamped BS/X) and the overhead valve v-twin (as shown on the front of the Morgan above) in the SS100. Matchless never used the OHV v-twin in a Matchless branded bike, which I've always thought was odd!
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