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20 Oct 2005
There was no Gus Carter – it is one of those made-up names – and the whole thing had a hallucinatory feel to it. Or maybe that was the Stella – the interview took place in a pub off Fleet Street.
It was all very predictable. No sooner had the Geordie lads got their float away than the shares took a dive (poor results were blamed on ‘lacklustre afternoon racing’ – that’s a new one) and the company was swallowed up by Stanley Leisure. A sorry episode.
I was reminded of Gus Carter when reading about the troubles at Sanctuary Group, the music company behind Iron Maiden and other tasteful acts. Like the Geordies, Sanctuary made a big play of raising its profile with a few select interviews.
It made good copy: Andy Taylor and Rod Smallwood were two mates from Cambridge who had made a business out of heavy metal. After an extended softening-up exercise, Sanctuary came to the market in 1996, triggering multimillion pound windfalls for Messrs Taylor and Smallwood.
It took a little longer, but the Gus Carter effect has kicked in, with four profit warnings this year alone. Sanctuary is currently sacking one in four workers in a bid to bring things under control.
Companies that play off novelty value – such as backing a rock band – are asking for trouble when the worm turns. Journalists are fickle types. So let us recall a few of those classic Iron Maiden numbers: Chains of Misery, Fate’s Warning, Lightning Strikes Twice, Massacre, No Prayer for the Dying, Run to the Hills, The Aftermath…
Sorry boys, but it’s a fair cop.
Jon Ashworth is a freelance journalist and writer
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gus carter
just read your 2005 article after a quick google-don't know if you knew, but gus carter was actually 2 companies, originally set up together, then split cos the dad of one of those two geordie lads was 'a bit of an arse' - i was actually the heir to the other one - gus carter (cash) ltd which didn't float at the time but also sold to stanley leisure - spoke to the solicitor who transacted the business recently - he's 'never seen a company whose physical assets were so ltd ie tin sheds and brick boxes sell for so much. I do know that the smaller company turned over a significant amount of cash for an organisation which doesn't really have a product, which always makes me smile - my dad always assured me though that they provided a unique service "somewhere to get away from the wife, nextdoor to a pub, in from the rain with some light entertainment and mediocre bovril thrown in"
Posted by: martin jameson, 08 Apr 2008 | 00:00