Earlier this year, the long-established Welsh bastion of the motorcycle business, M&P Direct, was acquired by a consortium, 66 Holding Blue, after a desperately difficult recent trading period. The new owners, headed up by chief executive Peter Graves, reincorporated the company in February and commenced trading again from the company’s base in Swansea, armed with a turnaround strategy focused on “rationalising unprofitable operations and strengthening e-commerce.”
Key actions were flagged up. These included closure of the company’s loss-making Cardiff site, withdrawal from unprofitable franchises, notably Harley-Davidson and Husqvarna, rebuilding manufacturer and supplier relationships under new management, and developing a new e-commerce platform to reduce reliance on eBay. They were all to be underpinned by a promise of tighter financial and operational controls.
Such measures apparently stabilised operations, but the motorcycle sales division remained unprofitable, even though the Swansea site briefly traded at break-even, and online sales showed improvement, but by mid-2025, market conditions had reportedly deteriorated. Only a few months later, on 5 September, Graves was obliged to nominate a liquidator, RG Insolvency, heralding a complete collapse.
Management accounts for the period ended 30 June indicated that M&P held stock and work in progress with a book value of £4,102,060. They included a large number of motorcycles of various brands and models. The majority of them were supplied on consignment or on “retention of title” terms.
To put it bluntly, M&P had gone comprehensively bust. According to RG Insolvency, M&P’s total estimated deficiency as per a statement of affairs at 19 September was £4,156,305.
Having regard to the company’s financial position, RG Insolvency says M&P directors have decided to take steps to place it into creditors’ voluntary liquidation. To this end, RG Insolvency licensed insolvency practitioners Charlotte Jobling and Michael Goldstein have been appointed Joint Liquidators.
Addressing trade suppliers, Peter Graves issued the following statement: “Please note that M&P’s Swansea site is now closed and the outer gates locked for all access. No further stock will be removed before 25 September at the earliest, following threats to our staff. The outer gates are locked continuously, and no vehicles will come in. We have active security when our staff need to enter or leave.”
He went on to say: “All consignment and other stock is safe and secure, being gathered in the warehouse, detagged, logged out and palletised, so that it can be safely and securely moved once the IP is in place. There is no contention over the ownership of documented consignment stock that I’m aware of. This is in line with our commitment to the accurate and professional return of stock where appropriate and carrying out our duties during this period.”