Malcolm Victor Gauntlett (20 May 1942 – 31 March 2003) was an English petrochemical entrepreneur and car enthusiast, best known for forming the largest independent petrol retail business in the United Kingdom, and for reviving Aston Martin.
Biography
Malcolm Victor Gauntlett was born in Surrey. After attending St Marylebone Grammar School and a short period in the Territorial Army, he took a short service commission as an officer in the RAF, where he trained as a pilot. After leaving he was commissioned into the Kent and County of London Yeomanry.
Among those who worked for him, Gauntlett was known as "MVG". An ebullient and well-dressed character who always wore a gold chained pocket watch, he was regarded as an inspirational leader, who worked extremely hard yet also had a great capacity for enjoying life.
A Freeman of the City of London, in 2002 he was appointed master of the Worshipful Company of Coachmakers and Coach Harness Makers. As a result of his death halfway through his year as Master of the Worshipful Company, they agreed to set up an annual scholarship in his name.
Petroleum
After leaving the air force, Gauntlett joined British Petroleum in 1963, moving in 1967 to Compagnie Francaise des Petroles, the parent company of Total S.A., in France and then London.
In 1972, he founded independent oil company Hays Petroleum Services, which traded as Pace Petroleum. While the product came from the major producers, shrewd buying and efficient distribution made a healthy business. By 1980 Gauntlett had created one of Britain's biggest independent petrol suppliers, delivering to more than 450 garages. In 1983 he sold a share in Hays/Pace to the Kuwait Investment Authority, which bought the whole company from Gauntlett in 1986.
After selling a 75% stake in Aston Martin to Ford in 1987 (but remaining as shareholder and chairman until 1992), Gauntlett founded Proteus Petroleum, which in 1995 was voted UK Oil Company of the Year. In 1998 he sold the business to Texaco, but remained chairman until 2000.
Automotive interests
Gauntlett loved classic cars, especially Bentleys and Aston Martins. He enjoyed racing Bentleys in club events, and owned a 4.5-litre "blower" Bentley which before World War II Tim Birkin had lapped Brooklands at 104 mph (167 km/h).
Through Pace Petroleum, Gauntlett sponsored motor racing events, initially local to Farnham but expanding to a Great Britain scale, including Formula Ford 2000, RAC Hill Climb and Rally Championships. In 1980 Morgan racer Norman Stechman introduced Gauntlett to Peter Morgan, resulting in "Pace Petroleum Team Morgan" featuring Stechman in Prodsports and Rob Wells in Modsports for the 1981 season. Pace was Nigel Mansell's personal sponsor in his first two years of Formula One.
After selling Aston Martin, Gauntlett returned to the classic scene and became a trustee of the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. Through this association he saved the Napier Railton for the country, topping up the UK National Lottery funding with the British Racing Drivers' Club and comedian Rowan Atkinson to keep the car at its home at Brooklands. In 1999, Gauntlett and Prince Michael of Kent took a blower 4.5 Bentley from London to Moscow. He was an active supporter of the Le Mans classic parades in the eighties until they banned him for driving too fast.
As a consultant to a series of London banks, in 2002 Gauntlett was appointed chairman of Automotive Technik, manufacturers of the Pinzgauer military all-terrain vehicle.
Aston Martin
As worldwide sales of Aston Martin reduced to 150 per year, chairman Alan Curtis together with fellow shareholders American Peter Sprague and Canadian George Minden, had almost chosen to shut down the production side of the business and concentrate on service and restoration. Curtis attended the 1980 Pace sponsored Stirling Moss benefit day at Brands Hatch, and met fellow Farnham resident Gauntlett.
Gauntlett bought a 10% stake in Aston Martin for £500,000 via Pace Petroleum in 1980, with Tim Hearley of CH Industrials taking a similar share. Pace and CHI took over as joint 50/50 owners at the beginning of 1981, with Gauntlett as executive chairman. Gauntlett also led the sales team, and after some development and a lot of publicity when it became the world's fastest 4-seater production car, was able to sell the Aston Martin Lagonda in Persian Gulf states, particularly Oman, Kuwait and Qatar.