Norton Motorcycles acquires Donington Hall

Norton Motorcycles has purchased the Donington Hall estate from British Airways including the Hall and its surrounding 25 acre grounds and the modern 45,000 sq ft Hastings House facility.

British Airways acquired Donington Hall and itsâ surrounding 25 acre grounds as part of its deal to takeover Bmi in April 2012.

Stuart Garner, CEO of Norton Motorcycles, said âDonington Hall conjures up a uniquely British way to show style, strength and quality which are all great attributes of the Norton brand. However, beyond the drama and romance of Donington Hall is a thoroughly modern 45,000 sq ft building (Hastings House) which will become the new Norton Motorcycles production facility and design offices. It became clear some time ago that we had outgrown our current location, to be able to move less than a mile down the road to an outstanding facility like Donington Hall is ideal. It will allow Norton to grow our manufacturing business with focus on âbuilt in Britain by British handsâ, export growth and job creationâ.

Vance Williamson, Head of Property at British Airways, said âWe are delighted to have reached agreement with Norton Motorcycles and we hope that they are able to grow their business from their new home. The integration of Bmi into British Airways has gone exceptionally well from an operational and customer service point of view and is already delivering extra benefits to our business. The deal to acquire Bmi included a total of 155 properties, ranging from the impressive Grade II listed Donington Hall to small airport offices around Europe. I am really pleased that the property team has also been able to sell, hand back or merge these properties in a very efficient and cost effective mannerâ.

Garner added, âWe have worked with our local authorities and politicians to put the project together, special thanks go to N W Leicestershire Council and Andrew Brigden MP. We are also working with LLEP [Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership] to put together our job creation and export growth plans, by working with LLEP we are able to put together a Regional Growth Fund application to enable further funding to help accelerate our growth plans and bring more job creation to the area as soon as possibleâ. We must also thank ASC Commercial Finance Nottingham for helping Norton arrange the best commercial funding for the purchase.

Andrew Brigden MP, said, âI am delighted to see that Donington Hall is now going to be put back into use. At the time it was vacated, I said I hoped it would be brought back into use as a business to provide local jobs. The fact a local manufacturing company like Norton are taking on the building and creating jobs is excellent news, and I am pleased that I was able to play a part in making this happen.â