From selling his first car at 11 to running “Duke of London” in Brentford, the guest explains how small car-deal profits turned into a bigger business: dealerships, storage, events, and creative workspaces. The conversation follows their warehouse-to-showroom beginnings, the dealer network that helps with pickups and short-term storage, and why classic-car risk gets “buffered into our margins.” Hypercar dealing comes with private deals, tight trust, and even scam-avoidance tactics—plus the stress of after-sale problems like a V12 Vantage failure.
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The story behind the Duke of London is far deeper than just supercars and social media. In this episode of Road To Success, Merlin McCormack opens up about building one of London’s most unique automotive businesses from the ground up — from selling cars at 11 years old to handling hyper car deals worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
We dive into the reality of the car world, the pressure of running a growing business, nightmare Aston Martin failures, luxury car investments, imposter syndrome, burnout, and how the Duke of London became far more than just a dealership.
From rusty workshops to LaFerraris, this is the untold story behind the Duke.
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👍 Like, Comment, and Share this episode. Join our discussion in the comments section
"... out. I get a phone call from a guy I just sold a V12 Vantage 2. This is painful."
The Aston Martin V12 Vantage is a sports car from Aston Martin. It’s powered by a V12 engine, which is known for strong performance and a distinctive sound. The podcast mentions it because someone recently sold one and regrets it.
The Aston Martin V12 Vantage is a performance version of the Vantage line, powered by a V12 engine and aimed at buyers who want a more dramatic, high-end driving feel. The podcast calls it out with “I just sold a V12 Vantage,” and the speaker says it’s “painful,” which signals how desirable it is to enthusiasts. It’s discussed because it’s a memorable, emotionally engaging Aston Martin model.
Concept
ferry vs tunnel crossing
"We booked the ferry because we couldn't afford to get the tunnel."
They chose the ferry because it was cheaper than going through the tunnel. It’s part of the story showing they were on a tight budget.
Choosing a ferry instead of a tunnel crossing is a practical cost decision when traveling with limited money. The speaker uses it to set the stakes of the trip—budget constraints shape the route and timing.
"...ilmed in Brentford, where the Duke had his yellow Range Rover, hence we have a yellow Range Rover as our kind o..."
The Range Rover is a large, comfortable SUV made by Land Rover. It’s designed to be good both on regular roads and rougher terrain. The podcast mentions a yellow one because it was tied to a specific person and location.
The Land Rover Range Rover is a luxury SUV known for its upscale interior and off-road capability, making it a common choice for high-profile owners. In the podcast context, it’s mentioned as a specific “yellow Range Rover” associated with a person in Brentford, which is why it stands out in the story. It’s the kind of car that signals status and comfort while still being practical.
Term
chop truck
"where the Duke had his yellow Range Rover, [638.9s] hence we have a yellow Range Rover as our kind of chop truck. [643.3s] And so yeah, we've just played into it a bit"
“Chop truck” is slang for a car you use like a work vehicle—basically your mobile setup for events or filming. In this story, the Range Rover is acting as that “get-it-done” car.
“Chop truck” is car-culture slang for a vehicle used as a mobile base—often for filming, events, or transporting gear—rather than a truck in the literal sense. Here, the host uses it to describe how their yellow Range Rover functioned as the go-to vehicle for their production.
"...own us in your walk around includes like a Monzer SP2. Yeah, so they're not for sale."
The Ferrari SP2 is a limited Ferrari sports car made in small numbers. It’s designed for a very special driving experience and is not widely available. The podcast mentions it to emphasize how exclusive it is.
The Ferrari SP2 is a special, limited-run Ferrari model built around a high-performance, open-air driving experience. In the podcast, it’s mentioned as part of a walk-around that includes a “Monzer SP2,” and the speaker notes these cars “aren’t for sale,” highlighting their exclusivity. It comes up because it’s a rare collector-focused Ferrari rather than a common production car.
"...in cars of the etiquette and the degree of like a LaFerrari concept. Yeah, so the LaFerrari's not the one tha..."
The LaFerrari is a very rare, very fast Ferrari supercar. It uses a hybrid system, meaning it combines an electric setup with a gasoline engine. The podcast mentions it as a special kind of car concept.
The Ferrari LaFerrari is a limited-production, high-performance hybrid supercar designed to deliver extreme speed and advanced technology. The podcast references it in the context of “etiquette and the degree of like a LaFerrari concept,” which suggests it’s being discussed as a standout, special-occasion kind of car. It’s notable because it represents Ferrari’s top-tier engineering and rarity.
"and this car had full Aston history ... they're known for ingesting their primary cats"
“Primary cats” are the main catalytic converters in the exhaust. If they get damaged, they can break apart and cause serious problems—often including loud noises and costly fixes.
“Primary cats” refers to the primary catalytic converters in the exhaust system. If they fail or break down, debris can get ingested downstream, which can cause loud noises, loss of performance, and expensive repairs.
"so this has had a primary cat delete done on it
so that wasn't an issue
so it had been done 10,000 miles ago"
A “cat delete” means removing or bypassing the car’s emissions filter in the exhaust. It can change how the exhaust system behaves, and it can also make the car harder to cover under warranty. Here, the host says it was already done earlier, so it wasn’t the cause of the later trouble.
A “cat delete” is when the catalytic converter (often the primary one) is removed or bypassed. That changes exhaust flow and emissions equipment behavior, and it can also affect how warranties and inspections treat the car. In this story, it’s mentioned as something already done before the engine problem, helping explain why the issue wasn’t tied to that modification.
"so it wasn't like there's any residue left
everything was fine
so I'm worried like the engine sounds like the engine's blown
and I'm thinking how the fuck can this happen
these V12s do not just blow up"
A “V12” is a type of engine with 12 cylinders arranged in a V shape. It’s usually found in expensive, high-performance cars. The host is basically saying that even though engines can fail, V12s aren’t supposed to just suddenly catastrophically break.
“V12” refers to an engine with 12 cylinders arranged in a V shape. V12s are typically high-end, complex engines, and while any engine can fail, they’re often perceived as robust when maintained. The host is emphasizing that V12s “do not just blow up,” which frames the surprise at the catastrophic failure described.
"but because the car had been modified
we weren't able to get an Aston warranty on it
because the car was sold me in month with him"
An “Aston warranty” means the official warranty coverage for an Aston Martin. If the car has been modified—especially in emissions or exhaust areas—manufacturers may refuse to cover problems. The host is saying the modifications prevented them from getting that warranty help.
This refers to an Aston Martin warranty. Warranties can be denied or voided when a car has been modified in ways the manufacturer considers outside approved specifications—like exhaust/emissions changes. Here, the host says they couldn’t get an Aston Martin warranty because the car had been modified.
"and it cost me just over 33 grand to burn your engine
just before Christmas
that was fun"
“Burn your engine” is a rough way of saying the engine got badly damaged—usually from something like overheating or lack of proper lubrication. It implies the damage was serious enough that the engine likely needed major repair or replacement. The host is using it to describe how expensive the problem became.
“Burn your engine” is a colloquial way to describe catastrophic engine damage, often from overheating, oil starvation, or severe internal failure. It’s not a precise technical diagnosis, but it signals that the engine was effectively destroyed rather than having a minor issue. In this segment, it’s used to quantify the cost of the failure event.
"and I think wear it a Porsche
that kind of logs rev reports and things like that
or wear it on YouTube or someone's Instagram"
“Logs” and “rev reports” are records of what the engine was doing—like how fast it was spinning and how it behaved. People use them to figure out what went wrong and when. Here, the host says they used those records as proof in their situation.
“Rev reports” and “logs” refer to recorded engine data—often from the car’s onboard diagnostics or aftermarket monitoring. These can show patterns like abnormal behavior around the failure event, helping establish what likely happened. The host mentions using these records (and even social media) to “prove” something malicious occurred, implying the data was used as evidence in a dispute.
"prior to that it was Mustangs and Range Ravers so we've gone"
The Ford Mustang is a sports car made by Ford. It’s known for being fun to drive and for its distinctive look. In the podcast, it’s mentioned as part of a set of cars they’ve been dealing with.
The Ford Mustang is a classic American sports car that’s widely recognized for its performance-focused design and strong enthusiast following. The podcast references “Mustangs and Range Ravers,” suggesting they’re talking about a lineup of cars they’ve sold or discussed. It’s often brought up because it represents a popular, recognizable performance brand.
The Porsche Cayman is a sports car with the engine placed toward the middle of the car. That layout helps it feel balanced when driving. The podcast brings it up because they’ve sold some earlier Caymans and are talking about what happened next.
The Porsche Cayman is a mid-engine sports coupe built for handling and driver engagement. The podcast mentions “selling earlier Caymans and boxes,” implying they previously owned or moved these cars and are now discussing what’s available. Caymans come up frequently in car conversations because they’re a compact, performance-oriented alternative within Porsche’s lineup.
Concept
Ferrari-esque things
"[2418.3s] more modern stuff
[2419.1s] and actually I prefer to sell
[2420.3s] because it's less prone to
[2421.8s] Ferrari-esque things
[2423.0s] that existed
[2423.6s] from the 70s through till"
“Ferrari-esque things” means the kinds of annoying issues people often expect from older Ferraris. The host is saying those problems are part of why he prefers to sell instead of keeping them.
“Ferrari-esque things” is a colloquial way to describe the kinds of quirks, maintenance needs, or problem patterns people associate with certain older Ferrari cars. The host links it to the 1970s-to-then era, implying age-related complexity and ownership headaches rather than a single specific failure.
"through things something like a 288 GTO [2571.1s] won't be ads value"
The Ferrari 288 GTO is a very famous Ferrari from the late 1980s. It’s known for having a powerful turbocharged engine and for being a highly collectible, special supercar.
The Ferrari 288 GTO is a late-1980s supercar built around a turbocharged V8 and designed to be a road-going homologation-style car. It’s famous for its 2.8-liter turbo V8 and for being one of the most collectible “era-defining” Ferraris from that period.
"but it's more like the XK120s of this world [2577.7s] Neetypes"
The Jaguar XK120 is an old-school British sports car from the late 1940s and 1950s. People talk about it because it was one of the early cars that made Jaguar famous for fast, stylish driving.
The Jaguar XK120 is a classic 1940s/1950s-era British sports car known for popularizing the modern “grand touring” formula. It’s especially associated with early post-war performance and the XK engine family, which became a foundation for many later Jaguar performance cars.
"it'll
have gone to
Carrera GTs
they're a different kind of fish"
The Porsche Carrera GT is a famous Porsche supercar with a V10 engine. People compare it to other exotic cars, but it drives and feels very different from many competitors.
The Porsche Carrera GT is a mid-engine supercar known for its V10 engine and analog, driver-focused feel. It’s often discussed as a “different kind of fish” because it competes in the same general supercar space as other exotics but with a distinct character and engineering approach.
"ones are GT car
ones one's almost like a hypercar"
A GT car is a fast, comfortable performance car meant for long drives. The host is basically saying GT cars and hypercars are built with different priorities.
A “GT car” is a grand touring-style performance car designed for fast road driving (and often endurance racing heritage). In the transcript, the host contrasts GT cars with hypercars to explain why they feel and behave differently.
"ones one's almost like a hypercar
but I still think at 300 grand"
A hypercar is an even more extreme version of a supercar—usually faster, more advanced, and more expensive. Here it’s used to compare different kinds of exotic cars.
A hypercar is an ultra-high-performance car that sits above typical supercars, usually with advanced aerodynamics, exotic materials, and very high power. The host uses “hypercar” to frame the comparison between different tiers of exotic cars and why they can be “good value” at certain prices.
“Flat-12” means the engine has 12 cylinders arranged in a special flat layout. It’s a way of describing the engine’s design, not just that it’s powerful.
“Flat-12” refers to a 12-cylinder engine layout where the cylinders are arranged in two banks lying flat on opposite sides of the crankshaft (a boxer-style configuration). The host is describing the Ferrari as having a “flat 12” to characterize its engine type and how it fits the car’s identity.
"and I didn't do it
because I just had so much going on
that week
that it just was too much stress
under my head to do a car deal as well"
A “car deal” means the whole process of buying or trading a car, not just driving it. It usually involves agreeing on price and handling the paperwork.
A “car deal” here refers to negotiating and completing the purchase/trade process—typically involving price, timing, and paperwork. In enthusiast circles, this often includes coordinating trade-ins, financing, and condition checks before money changes hands.
Term
stop gap
"there is a buffer
[2714.7s] there needs to be a stop gap
[2715.5s] where you're like
[2716.0s] okay this has now cost me so much money"
A “stop gap” car is a temporary car you buy just to get you through a rough patch. You’re using it until you can afford or find the next car you really want.
In car buying, a “stop gap” is a temporary vehicle you use while you wait for the right car or while you recover financially. It’s meant to bridge the gap between purchases, not be a long-term solution.
"if you look at
[2722.3s] especially limited run ones
[2723.1s] or low production number ones
[2726.3s] and I've still got my roses done"
A “limited run” car is built in small numbers. Because fewer exist, they can stay more valuable than cars that are made in huge quantities.
“Limited run” refers to a production model made in relatively small quantities. Scarcity can affect pricing and demand, often helping keep values from dropping as much as mass-market cars.
"you know the 964
[2750.2s] and the 930 is a great looking car
[2752.3s] but to drive"
This is a specific generation of the Porsche 911. People debate how “fun” it is to drive compared with other 911s, even if it looks great.
Porsche 911 (964) is the 911 generation from the late 1980s to early 1990s, and it’s known for being a more modernized “next step” compared with earlier 911s. In enthusiast discussions, it often comes up because its driving feel can be less sharp than some earlier or more focused 911 variants.
"[2749.2s] you know the 964
[2750.2s] and the 930 is a great looking car
[2752.3s] but to drive
[2753.1s] they're not that engaging"
This is the classic turbo version of the Porsche 911. It’s well known and looks iconic, but the host says it doesn’t feel as exciting to drive as some other turbo 911s.
Porsche 911 Turbo (930) refers to the classic 911 Turbo generation (the “930” chassis code). It’s famous for its turbocharged character and iconic styling, but the speaker is arguing that—despite the looks—it isn’t as engaging to drive as the “proper fast driving” turbo they prefer.
Select text to request an explanation
Merlin, in your own words.
The Duke of London, life through tour.
Who are you and what do you do?
I'm Merlin McCormack, the self-proclaimed Duke of London.
We own a dealership, come event space, come coffee shop,
come wine bar called Duke of London down in Brentford.
The concept was simple, bring a community together.
What I want to know is who is the guy behind the Duke?
It was 11, my first time, my first car.
We started buying and selling cars for nominal profits.
I realised that there was a bit of money to be had out of it.
Business has frankly consumed my life for the last decade.
What's been the biggest challenge
since starting doing what you did?
If I carried on the way that we have been for the last year or so,
there's no choice but to burn out.
I get a phone call from a guy I just sold a V12 Vantage 2.
This is painful.
It's making horrible noise.
It sounds like the engine's blown, and it cost me just over.
Merlin, most car dealers are known for selling cars,
but you're known for so much more.
And I've introduced you as Merlin,
but many online will know you as the Duke of London.
So in your own words, who are you and what do you do?
I'm Merlin McCormack, the self-proclaimed Duke of London.
I don't think I am the Duke of London, by the way.
And we own a dealership, come event space,
come coffee shop, come wine bar, come whatever,
called Duke of London down in Brentford
on our self-dubbed Brentford Riviera.
Now, the audience may have seen this.
When I've seen the Duke of London online
as like tagged stories or events of things happening,
it usually looks like it's in some kind of dark multi-story car
part that I hope all the supercars have nose-lift for
that just takes over the entire space,
there's people everywhere in the middle of London
hosted by this anonymous character called the Duke.
So what I want to know is who is the guy behind the Duke?
Because your story sounds incredible
because you sold cars even at the age of 11
when your dad was restoring them,
and you were already showing interest
in getting involved in business
rather than school, from what I understand.
So just paint us a picture of who you were
and what life was growing up.
Yeah, so I think I was 11 when I first sold my first car.
We had a kind of family-interesting cars
through dad's restoration business.
Mum always had weird and interesting cars,
like mainly American stuff.
But growing up around that,
I'd always bothered dad in the workshop
in some holidays and weekends and after school.
And then it started buying and selling cars
that you have for nominal profits,
but I realized that there was a bit of money
to be had out of it.
Mum and dad were very supportive of like,
if you want some extra cash,
you're going to have to earn it for buying stuff
or spending a little waste in it.
And frankly, all my money that I was profiting
on these car deals from was all going on
with dirt bikes I could race and things like that.
But yeah, we had a really good run of it,
got through somehow managed to get through my GCSEs,
and then went off to a sick form
that enabled me to be at school three days a week.
So I could only have two and a half days a week,
so I could do, yeah, it's kind of part-time work
and the car and bike stuff I was doing at the time.
Outside of that, I think I lasted about six months there
before they started failing me and like,
look, you're clearly not into this, like, what are you doing?
Had a similar experience at high school,
they got to the end of my GCSE season,
despite I actually did a right miraculously at the end of them.
They were sort of, thanks for coming,
but you're not coming back for sick form.
So yeah, it was good, it was a kick up the arse
and it maybe, if anything, gear up even faster.
By the time we got to 19, I opened the first showroom,
I call it a showroom, it was like this awful,
beautiful, well-building, but like awful inside,
it was grubby, it'd been an old engineer's showroom,
traditional engineer's,
so it had mills and lathes in it for about 40 years,
and there was still like a layer of swath
on the floor, an inch thick.
You get stuck in the tires of the cars we put in there.
Yeah, it was cool, it was a really
characterful Victorian warehouse
that we had on a really short-term lease,
and when we took that on, we realized quite quickly
that there was a demand for kind of office space
in the area, artist studios and stuff,
so we had a couple of bits of surplus space.
I rented one out to a friend,
suddenly their friend needed some space, and, and, and,
so we started taking on lots of
meanwhile-use properties, buildings that had been
sat vacant that were due for the redevelopment,
which is ripe in the area, and carved them up
into lots of different smaller workspaces
and sublet those out, and that then kind of grew
its own arms and legs and helped fund the car business,
frankly.
And where we currently are is in Brentford in London,
yeah, in the west end of New York.
Your other place was just over there,
and you're in brand new place,
which we've just done a stories channel,
walk around us.
If you haven't seen that, go and check that out, guys,
is where we're sat now, I'm not too far away.
Yeah, exactly.
So we've, this is our fourth HQ, if you will,
we've got other satellite sites around it,
but the first one was at Q Bridge,
very outskirts of Brentford,
and then the other three, including this one,
have all been right in the center of Brentford.
What I want to try and do in this conversation
is add context to a business that is
occasionally difficult to understand,
because a wide audience sometimes
struggle to understand something
that doesn't have a physical price tag
associated with it.
It's like when you see the Duke of London building,
which is just out here,
we'll put an overlay on the screen for those watching.
We can see that there's a coffee shops
that has some sort of earning,
then there's car sales going on in there,
and then you talk about there's a restoration business
somewhere in the background,
that's where this all kicked off from on your dad's side,
and then you're also doing storage,
and you've got this, there's so many pieces of the puzzle.
You paint a really good picture
of what your first car sales showroom area looked like,
but were you the first one as part of the kind of
legacy of family and cars to do car sales properly?
Yeah, absolutely.
So dad had never done it.
Mum was in properties at the state agencies
when we were growing up,
and yeah, it was something that dad had always been
kind of passing off.
Could clients of his to recommend them to certain people
to look after the sales or acquisitions of their cars,
and eventually he thought, well, why don't you
give this a crack?
I've got somebody who's thinking of selling that,
and he was really supportive,
and kind of gave me a few intros to a big client of his,
and they took me under their wing a bit.
I mean, they must have been mental,
because I was like 18, 19 years old,
like the handling sale is like hundreds of thousands
of pounds worth of cars.
And yeah, dad, I don't know how we kind of pulled it off,
but we did, and it snowballed from that.
One thing that's been absolutely imperative
you touched on the events earlier,
we started doing the classics and cakes on Monthly Car Meet
on the third Sunday, every month,
which Heritage Car Meet have done since I think it's 2015.
And that has been the best kind of community builder for us,
and that's one of the most important things for us,
like before profit, before anything,
like reputation of the community,
come before anything else for me.
Do you remember your first event?
Yeah, it was early, I did,
and it pops up every year on Facebook as well,
and there's like reminders of,
and sometimes it's become the guys that were there,
send me a link to it,
look what this was like.
We shared the yard with this old,
it's like a rubbish dump,
it was a private recycling site,
and so during the week,
it had that's kind of flying in and out of it all day long.
On the weekend, it was just like barren land,
with sandstorms essentially whenever there was a gust of wind,
and a lot of the guys who came to that very, very first event
still come every month and been hugely supportive,
and we've become really, really good friends.
And again, that's another really key part of this for me,
is that so many of our either clients or attendees
at the events and stuff have become proper friends for life.
I don't really have much for life away from the business,
so thankfully I do have a social life that centres around it.
So, do you remember the first car that you really feel taught you a lesson,
or you remember as like a significant part of your story
in terms of like a sale that built something,
or is it just all about the next one, one?
To an extent, the next one,
but there are definitely some like highlights and stuff.
I mean, I remember driving down as our first kind of right of passage,
all of our friends were going off to Zanty
and wherever else on their foot are cars and whatever,
on their first kind of 18 year old boys' holidays.
Me and my mates decided to go to the south of France,
because one of our old school friends had a place down there,
and we were driving down there.
We booked the ferry because we couldn't afford to get the tunnel.
We were driving down this W123 Merc Coupe that I'd bought for 600 quid,
and we had no idea if it was going to make that.
And by the time we got halfway through France, we were like,
we were skinned and we'd spent all of our money,
we didn't have anything to go on.
And I'd been putting this deal together back in London just before I left,
and I was hoping to get it all across the line to help fund this trip.
And we genuinely were like,
as long as we can get down to his house,
I'm sure his parents will feed us, we'll be all right.
And about two hours out of Cannes, we got our phone call to say it closed,
and I'd sold this old Aston-Barris car,
and suddenly we were like quitting in the money,
but we were 18, 19 years old.
I don't think we made that money last 23 days of us.
We were just young and stupid,
we just spanked it all at the wall without partying and whatever else.
But that was the kind of first taste of like,
shit, there's actually some proper money to be made here.
I wouldn't condone how we spent it,
but it was more, I don't regret it per se,
because we had a good time,
but that was the first sort of taste of like,
oh, shit, we could probably do with taking this a bit more seriously.
So what did that do?
Add fuel to the fire, just get you motivated?
Absolutely, yeah, yeah, 100%.
Something interesting there is that you talk about even your friends at that point as we,
as if it's like...
Oh, it was a complete unit, yeah, yeah.
...putting that deal together.
Yeah, yeah, but I've always felt like that.
I think, yeah, these guys,
I think the people who were setting that car with me
when I got their phone call are still my best mates now.
We have become, and some of them have worked for me,
some of them have gone off into careers in the city and whatever else.
Some of them were kids we were at school with,
some of them kids that we were just friends through the car.
But I do feel like a kind of shared ownership
of all this stuff around us,
because I'm very aware that none of this would have happened
if it wasn't for the support of these guys,
and that frankly, they've got no skin in the game
or anything like that,
but they have been there for me through thick and thin
and have helped facilitate a lot of what's gone on.
I know you said there was no real thing to it,
which is the honest truth,
like the self-proclaimed Duke of London.
The name's Merlin.
But what I'm picturing is a teenager of like,
I'm going to try and broker this deal,
but even in your own head,
you're like, I probably shouldn't be able to for some reason,
like I shouldn't be able to sell this car at 18 years old
or someone like that.
Is that why you almost comedically, do you think,
gave yourself the self-proclaimed title of,
I'm the Duke?
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
So kind of give yourself that level of-
Well, they'll then see me as like,
maybe this degree of someone special.
No, far from it.
I think I wanted to make it clear that,
to kind of distinguish myself,
myself from a lot of the so-called bedroom brokers
that we touched on when we did our walk around just now,
I think there was a real notion
that I wanted to kind of make sure people,
and I still stand by this and live by this,
that I didn't want it to be taken too seriously at all.
And it was never the notion that I wasn't pretending
that I was, I never referred to myself as the Duke.
Sometimes we're not, usually that's like to a level.
But yeah, the title was a bit tongue-in-cheek, frankly.
And yeah, there's lots of other connotations
that we've picked up on since.
But a lot of layer cake was filmed in Brentford,
where the Duke had his yellow Range Rover,
hence we have a yellow Range Rover as our kind of chop truck.
And so yeah, we've just played into it a bit
and just not taken it too seriously.
Without that sandy meat in a car park
with the wind blowing it across all the cars, et cetera,
would you have ended up with the space as it is now,
as it looks, as it's kind of developed, where you are?
I truly believe that we wouldn't.
I think it was these stepping stones
that have paved the way for us being where we are now.
And I don't take it for granted.
Yesterday was the first day I sat down in my new office,
opened my laptop and was like,
something feels like it's missing.
Because it wasn't 50 builders running around
like headless chickens.
Everyone's stressed to kind of get something finished.
We've built this thing now and we're like standing back going,
oh shit, this is ours and it's for real.
And it's permanent.
We'd be so used to being in these meanwhile use spaces.
This is our first long-term project we've ever taken on.
It feels surreal.
It feels like it's ours.
But again, going back to the imposter syndrome,
there's still a lot of that.
We were like, shit, how have we done this?
How have we pulled this off?
Like, we shouldn't be doing this.
I feel like naughty.
I feel like, oh my god, we're getting away with this.
This is great.
But it is as a result of the hard work of my whole team,
people around me and the support of all of our clients.
Obviously, I've put a lot into it myself as well.
But is that because it's so nice and so luxury,
yet you're clearly just a hustler inside that also loves a deal?
I hope they come across, yeah.
And this is it.
Someone recently said to me,
like, do you even need to still kind of be on the floor
or selling cars?
Do you need to sell cars full stop?
If we can expand the storage business, surely that's...
Yeah, there's an argument for that.
But I don't think I'll ever be able to stop.
I just love the art of the deal.
Is it where it sounds so cliche?
But there's always going to be something in me
that always wants to buy and try.
And selfishly, I get to try the...
If we're buying and selling stuff for ourselves, especially,
get to try cars that I've always dreamed of owning.
And it's like you can kind of live vicariously through your stock.
So that's also nice because I am still through and through
just a huge quarantine, yes.
There's a whole short list of stuff.
I love getting that.
I love to own with it.
And sometimes it only makes sense financially
to have it in a store, to buy it in a stock.
Can't keep it forever.
But while it's here, at least we get to sort of have a play with it.
And some of the stock that you've just shown us in your walk around
includes like a Monzer SP2.
Yeah, so they're not for sale.
So Monzer's definitely not for sale.
List some that are.
I've got a lot of stuff.
There's lots on the website.
You can see it's for sale.
Yeah, so there's not a lot downstairs that's publicly for sale.
But you get in cars of the etiquette
and the degree of like a LaFerrari concept.
Yeah, so the LaFerrari's not the one that's definitely not for sale.
You're selling hypercars is my point.
There are, yeah, there's a lot of stuff
that does go on behind closed doors, hypercar wise.
But the majority of the stuff that we're known for
from an outward point is the kind of...
Slightly more on a mill dare I say.
But they're kind of cool and interesting, but a lower price point.
We only really tried to stock cars that we like.
And it sounds strange because it's not necessarily
the most commercial model.
And it doesn't always work out in the most commercial way.
But we always try to focus on where we can stuff
as interesting stuff that we would want to own
if we are selling it for somebody else especially.
Obviously stock wise, we generally only buy stuff
that we do want to own.
And we do like frankly, if it ends up sitting around
for a while, we want to be able to enjoy it.
Whereas if there's stuff we're taking on a consignment,
we'll still try and tailor it to firstly what we like
and secondly what we know that our audience
and our following also appreciate.
So quite good, interesting stuff from 50s all the way through
to current day stuff that's within 30 to say 200 grand
price bracket.
So it's not the hypercar stuff.
It's not the kind of unobtainium stuff.
It's just the kind of weird and wonderful cars.
And then the hypercar off market to sell stuff
we get involved in is great and fun.
But there's also that's almost a little bit
soulless and faceless sometimes
because you don't ever get to meet end users.
And it's not often this.
Yeah, it's funny because I've heard a lot of the fact
that even the people with a lot of money
still like to deal with their cars.
Some of them do.
Some of them don't.
Yeah.
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Now we clearly touched on inside when I first met you
I got a little inclined into the fact
that you are quite competitive straight away
because you were very quick to say
I don't think there's anything like this in London
this is our space
this is something different we don't know
which shows the sense of proudness
accomplishment and achievement
and clearly you wanted it to be the best
which shows that level of competitiveness in there.
As a car dealer that sells hypercars
and gets involved in those deals
do you get a competitive with other dealers across the UK?
I think we've got quite a good collaborative network
of other dealers that we work quite closely with
I mean there's certain dealers sure
that they are probably would shy away from
but generally the majority of the people
that we've come across them
worked with to date we continue to
and I think we might kind of socially
have a bit of a laugh and competition internally
but in reality we've all become quite good friends.
No I say it in the same way that the F1 drivers have said
Yeah, yeah
come out by your friends or the rest of it
but there's only a certain amount of you
that have access to sell cars of this value in the UK
do you all look up to anybody in particular
even you still loving the art of a deal
of like oh my god how has he put that together?
I think there's a lot of stuff that does happen
especially when you look at what's going on in the States
at the moment in the way things are skyrocketing
you kind of still can't get my head around it
but you kind of have to be a bit in awe of how
these guys are orchestrating themselves
but ultimately I think there's just a level
certainly amongst my most immediate like dealer circle
dealer friend circle there's a level of mutual respect
then everyone kind of gets in
we will support each other through stuff
we often we've got a lot of dealer friends
who aren't even based in London
and we'll get a phone call at 11th hour
I've just bought this I need someone to stick it for a week
can you please go and pick it up
because in the West End
yeah we always jump into the rescue as well
and help each other out so that's quite nice
Just getting inside the mind of an entrepreneur
that clearly likes to go to the nth degree
to create what is a vision into reality
like the building we'll put some overlays on right now
is insane that you just built
like it is it is amazing
it's nth degree it's jaw dropping every corner that you turn
and clearly that started with an embryo in terms of like a vision
or you saw a few things that come together to be like rife
we put that together like a bar
it's going to come into this amazing vision
and what I'm getting at with the car deals
because you said the sentence the art of the deal
yeah
I saw Hartley Jr's sale of sale like all the McLarens
yeah in the middle east
I look at that and as a competitive art of the deal loving dealer
do you look at that and go
I've got to beat that one though
I've got to get a big in there
I've got to get a consignment of cars
like these oldies work
Personally no
I think the door for the cap like fair play
if you can orchestrate something like that
like nothing but respect for that
that's fair we're going to crack on
good luck to you
and good luck to everyone out there
but there's no point no point in my sat there
I wish that was me or I could do better than that
or I should or I'm going to set myself
I'm not I'm not wired that way
but maybe somebody for the hard but
so are you content
I'm pretty content
yeah this I think there's
it much the frustration of some of my competitors
or sort of your rivals if you will
I don't think people quite understand what we do
it's quite fun
I dine out on that quite a lot
I do enjoy the kind of frustration of people going
how are they why are they shouldn't they
it's like no this is we're doing it on our way
and I'm quite happy about that
yeah it doesn't fit inside a box
no no it's God no we never have
and yeah through school through
yeah adult life and everything
I've never been one to known to conform
but you know as long as we keep a power draw
and we actually look after people
and people with a sort of honesty and respect
that we would command ourselves
and I think that's what you can hope for
with both sides of the fence
what's been the biggest challenge
shouldn't start in doing what you did
maybe getting into what you do in 18, 19, 20
with the events for the car sales with
what's been the the hurdle you come up against
you thought all that was going to be
a little bit easier to get over
yeah I think
frankly it's the after sale stuff for the cars
as managing people's expectations
but moreover than having to rely on
the reliability of older cars
has been a real learning curve
there's certain things we've been stung
as any sort of car dealer
frankly will have been over the years
bike stuff that you sell in good faith
with everything you know full service history
and whatever else in good condition
and it's like horrific can go wrong
and actually with certainly with more classic cars
you can't get a third party warranty on them
it doesn't exist we still legally have to stand by them
so we've you know we've had a
couple of shitty experiences like that
but that's an occupational hazard
and we yeah we have to buffer that into our margins
across the board
so when is the deal actually done
and the result of which you think it is
is actually complete is it like 14 days after the deal
I mean after the deal
technically there's sort of yeah
depends on the way you look at things
you know you deals on the handshake
deals on the money's in the account
deals done when you've delivered the car
whatever but you know
it's obviously a kind of hangover warranty period as well
so um yes as long as you can stomach that kind of
the time after the car's been delivered then fine
but yeah technically it's like six months but
we don't think of it like that you wouldn't sleep
you're actually going to buy a car
directly after this podcast right
which is why he's looking at his phone
constantly because he's got
because if if he doesn't pick up one specific call
you're not going to be able to take out
stay out of here
which is not a payment
so what have you bought
I can't say it it's just a bit of stock
but yeah
but that's from another dealer
yeah
as that kind of shows how the dealers
that interact from one another
and it's top stop
it's not that top stop
is that because you've got to buy it for something
that another dealer doesn't necessarily have
um in essence yeah
I mean there's a lot of trade deals
that go on so
this particular car is one that the dealers
had sort of sat around for a while
and they we've done a deal
basically this is part of the fun of
dealing with other dealers
um but yeah it's just a car
that I've got someone for the other end
so um yeah
turn it around and carry on
but when you're doing things
like building the space behind it
there's an element of you that always goes
what's next
do you have to kind of repress that
after doing so big
you you can't
if if I carried on
at the way in the way that we
yeah have been for the last year or so
I there's no choice about it
I would burn out I can't
I do have to monitor my own like
output and my stress levels
and yeah the sleepless nights
and whatever else
because there's the buck stops with me
there is no one else that we
I own 100% the business
I've got that
it was to pay staff salary
and and and and and
so I also have to kind of
manage my ambitions as well
I can't start trying to take over the world
we have to kind of contain it
within what whatever's achievable
sensible affordable
and realistic
in a nice yeah
the lovely dreamy world
if we were sat on piles and piles of cash
of course we'd try and do this
we'll try and do that
but we do still have to be commercially
minded about this
which I expect I think we do kind of
we've become a curiosity for a lot of people
because I don't quite understand
what it is that we do
and in reality we are our now
a car dealer that does car storage
and also rents out creative workspaces
they're kind of our three main
facets of the business
from a revenue perspective
and then off the back of that
we've opened the bar
we've opened the the coffee shop
we do a lot of events
we hire the space out for filming
we hire some of the cars that we own
out for filming
that's becoming a bigger part of our
our kind of day-to-day operation as well
but yeah this is kind of quite varied
you wouldn't have built a space
to invite people to
if you didn't know how to talk to the
wealthiest 1% of the people
that come through the door
so I kind of want to have a section
of the conversation about
where people go wrong
because during our walkthrough
we said something that I thought was
quite poignant
which is not posting
something on social media
is often far more valuable
than actually clicking post on something
especially when you're dealing with the
kinds of people that you
deal to
where do?
because the barrier to selling a car
or being the middleman in a deal
is zero
you can
no completely
you don't need investment
anything
it is something I think I've proven that
yeah yeah
from from zero from nothing
yeah
where do most people go wrong
in their communications
with people?
I think the social media thing
is a blessing and a curse
there's a big
but really in a fraud generation
especially
it's become one of those things
where you can quite quickly
you know
ruin your reputation
or more on a personal level
ruin
the client's trust
I think there's a lot of stuff
where people can't help
there they might have done
put something together
that's supposed to be kind of
at the client's discretion
not posted about or whatever
or something
just can't help themselves
I've seen it so many times
and you're like
I bet he was chuffed about that
when you know the mutual client
or something like that
you think
probably wouldn't have done that myself
but you know
maybe they've got their own ways of doing it
but I think that's for me
you know this kind of
a frankly stunting
like this whole like Instagram
they were really shown off with stuff that
perhaps they shouldn't be
so what happens in your world
because you were mentioning like these
ghost people
that almost get involved in a deal
or come up on Instagram
and say like
I've got this car for sale
or I've got this
or I've got a
it used to be
I've got a build slot for so and so time
allocation
but it's not mine and yeah yeah
so what
who is driving that
is it do you think
is it car spotters
that just are trying to take another step forward
and how prevalent is that
as something to like deal with in the industry
so I've seen people like
Mark McCann make videos about
you know there's these ghost allocations
or people trying to scan people
for you to ground over a thing
massive
how prevalent is that in your world
I think
over time it's that
yeah there's only so many people
and it's a
king small world in the UK especially
so there were
a few known numbers to ignore
who you know
will never work with
something we have
and the irony is
there's a couple that
we did put some pretty good deals
together within the past
and then I think they just
yeah it's almost like a drug deal
and they get you in the first fix
then all of a sudden you're like
does this car even exist
does customer even exist
this is all starting
you know you're asking for pictures
of just something quite simple
or you're having to change and change
and you're thinking hang about
this is all red flag territory
alarm bells are going off
and then we'll send us a deposit
and you're like
not piling with the penny until
I've seen X, Y and Z
a lot of the time
but we're representing someone
in that situation
so we can't be responsible
ourselves for letting someone
that's else's money leave the net
until we know that the car's
you know physical
there's been times where
there are people that
Frank wouldn't
yeah necessarily trusted on the off
and I will stand next to the car
until the money's in their account
and we've got the key
that I won't leave
because again
whether it's our money or a client's money
you just kind of get a feeding
have you ever been stung?
Stung like that?
No to be honest
we've had a couple of instances
where people have led us down
the garden path for sure
right I think it hints my resentment
for all these kind of
bedroom brokers
but I think everyone in this industry
has and it's
not stung per se
but had time wasted for sure
just what happened is
I imagine what happens is
does a car spotter
goes out massive passion for cars
loves cars
ends up getting on quite well
with someone that owns
some of the cars
and then some suddenly thinks
hang on a minute
I can go from making
200 quid from this photo shoot
to 200 grand
if I just get in the middle
of him selling that car
so I'm sort of buddied up close to it
is this what happens
and is there any specific story
you could tell without naming names?
No one story
I mean it's not something that's really
yeah prevalent that much anymore
but there's a lot of good car spotters
out there as well
when we've done
we've put this together
with people in that situation
before very successfully
and we've all
you know everyone's done
well that customer's got
what he wanted for the car
local middles made a drink
and our client
or ourselves are happy
with what we've bought
so it is possible
but it requires everyone
to kind of stick to their word
and just keep it straight
it could be quite an easy one
to ruin
both reputations on both sides
yeah we're guilty of association
at that point
if we've introduced a middle man
who's turned out to be
not quite what they seem
but we have to have a really good
bullshit like filter
on every communication
that we engage in
especially with new people
we get calls and stuff
some of the stuff we've obviously
been seen to have in the showroom
this week
my phone has been ringing
off the hook with
yeah these guys phoning me
I am from so and so
people have never heard of
go and they might be
legit and above board
oh I've got someone for that car
I've got someone for that car
they're not so
they're not so
they're not so
and they just won't accept it
and they'd push it
and push it
and push it
and push it
if anything that makes me
kind of retreat even more
you're like
hmm
not sure about this
this is yeah
please stop contacting me
so what does it take
for someone to be verified
for you
to actually have the
the blue ticket of authenticity
or does it take to build a relationship
in this world
with someone to actually do a deal
face to face is an easy one
you we can still be
bad judges of characters
but the ultimate
you meet someone face to face
you can get through
a lot of that instantly
obviously
if someone's come at this blind
and there's no one in the industry
or no mutual friends
or no anything
that's pretty uncommon
usually someone's once or twice removed
and it only takes a quick phone
or a quick WhatsApp to go
is it broke all right
yeah yeah it's cool right
or oh my god
don't deal with it
he ripped me off on something
yeah and that's it
it's a real quick process
for us to quickly
in theory quickly gets to the bottom of someone
if someone comes out of the woodwork
giving it the big I am
and no one knows who they are
that's usually like a lumbar
there's so many rich wealthy people
leaving the UK right now
the headlines are always so negative
like X amount of thousand millionaires
have left again
everybody's going to Dubai
they're going to the Middle East
yet you've just spent
always clearly millions on building
something very special in London
why did you have the confidence to stay in London
yeah don't believe everything
you really frankly there's a lot of people
whose cars are in there
who live in Dubai already
so there's
yeah it comes and goes
it yeah I think we are
you know yeah
not going to get political about this
but yeah there are obviously issues
that need to be solving in our economy
and I'm not overly surprised
that some people are leaving
but we don't quite appreciate
as tiny as Ireland we are
you spend time in the States
you know what it's like
it pales insignificant that you gave them
at that point we look back
when I shit we live on this tiny rock
in reality when you're actually in London
you've only got to go up and down
you know the west end
off a nice warm Saturday
often the only thing though actually
there is still a big caps of audience here
there are still people coming in
spending their summers here
there are still people living here
and that gets to the point where
conversations we've had
but a lot of our like
even over wealthy clients
and they just go
I just rather pay the tax
I don't want to have to leave my home
I don't want to have to leave London
I don't want to have to die
yeah dodgy I don't want to whatever
in a way it's kind of refreshing
you think all right okay
not everyone's out to
I get it from both sides frankly
but it is nice that these guys
are sort of loyal to to London
and I think we see more and more of that
especially with what's going on
in the Middle East for instance
there's a lot of backlash I suppose
it's it's it's coming less attractive
the girl that works for me sure
I'm going to say in Daniela
well it's my marketing agency twig
and she moved out there with her partner
to Dubai nine months ago now
she was on a client call a few weeks ago
and a missile physically went past the building
when it all started kicking off
that she was in
and she was shocked for 48 hours
like like shuck shuck shuck
like I want to come home
there's no flights like where we're done
so it's like
it's a little bit like the broken
really in the middle isn't it
it's like it's uh
it looks like the dream
but is it
no it's the shiny stuff
I always say this the shiny
it's the only stuff that makes the Instagram cut right
there's like there's so much more to all of this stuff
that
you've got loads of friends who've moved out there
and they're just so unhappy as well
and they might have a new gaggle of mates
but I think there's only so much
kind of posting that they can do
where they
starts to wear off
and there's so many stuff again
diminishes and they left there
feeling a bit lonely and isolated
which is sad because it's
selling a dream but
yeah I think it's good
I do take quite comfort from the fact that a lot of our
selfishly a lot of our biggest clients
haven't done that
or if they're based overseas anyway
they've still got a base in London
and they still keep some cars with us and stuff but
I'm not overly concerned about it
there's a lot of headlight fodder in there
so I was chatting to a
chopping door that just happened to be your dad
and he told me that growing up
you wanted to be a rastafarian
I think he's my dad loves to tell a story
yeah
so how does a rastafarian become
which you should learn to
he's winding you up
can't help himself
yeah
he's completely wind up
so you've always been the way you are
yeah I think so I think
probably a lot calmer now that used to be
for sure
I think having lived through
many
if I feel like I've lived a few lives
over the past 10 15 years
even though you were the ones that sort of went down to the south of France
and led that route rather than going to say Malaga or anything like that
yeah yeah yeah we've done some pretty crazy shit as well but
there's probably stuff we can't talk about on here
but it's been
a roller coaster to say the least
there's been some extreme highs and extreme lows and
we've kind of just clung on and
here I am
yeah I don't know that I change anything
I don't know that there's certain things
that of course yeah
I wish certain things were worth that differently
or I hadn't done certain things
or should have done certain things or whatever
but ultimately I'm a very big believer
that every single
thing that has happened has led us to be
you and I sat here today
like us to be finally in our new home
or you know all this kind of thing
and the business has frankly consumed my life
for the last decade in many many ways
I don't regret it
I've really enjoyed it
so earlier on you mentioned that some customers
can be easier than others
have you ever not sold a car to a customer
because you don't think that they are the right customer for the car
and the long-term structure of the deal
more than once yeah
and we've actually
not stored people's cars to them
because we know they're going to be
getting pain in the arse
in fact there is
as often yeah
as time goes by
they're usually organically let themselves out
but I've been
still stood in front of someone
while they've come down to look at a car
and I just have to say
I don't think this is the right car for you
so is that
is the saying
the customer is always right
do you believe in that
to an extent
yeah I think you've also got to protect your own interest as well
you can't bend over backwards
to the nth degree
for every single request
for every single person
there needs to be a level of mutual respect
there needs to be a level of humility within it
but
yeah if someone's clicking their fingers
making demands before they even bought a car
and you can just tell they're going to be a nightmare
it's nine times out of ten not worth
whatever the profit is
and is that because in today's market as well
there are enough buyers for every car
within reason
I think we've got
we've got a kind of good track record
of getting stuff turned around
we've kind of
we've always been known to not
expect to civilly price our stock
we do get stuff sold relatively quickly
so with that comes quite a lot of interest
and then
yeah we can kind of be a bit picky
so what's the fastest you've ever sold a car
at the rate we're quite lucky that our Instagram platforms
become a kind of captive audience
for a lot of people like you and I
who just like
sort of weird and cool shit
so
I've
the number of times I've gone to pick something up
and just quickly stop a petrol
wag to story up
gone coming soon
and by the time I've got back someone's
put a deal together
and it's like oh shit okay that's quite cool
it's nice to have that
if you can feel the benefit of it then
but yeah there's been a lot of
a few situations like that
if you're enjoying listening to this episode
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tell us a story
take us into your world with one
of like what is a nightmare
give us a visual representation of a stressful day
in terms of a car sale
and why it's a stressful day
so I had one Christmas time
I bear in mind when the middle of this
big behemoth build behind us
which was getting ever more expensive by the day
so we were being good with the money at that point
to type with the pennies as it were
knowing the build was going to be over budget
and I get a phone call from a guy
just sold a V12 Vantage 2
all looked four or five weeks before
and he was in south to France
he bought the car for me
as part of the deal I said I'll pay for the service
take it off so I asked him to get his service
and I'll pay for the services
the car we owned at stock
and I get a phone call from him
I think it was just over a month later
at least down in south to France
he was making a horrible noise
and this car had full Aston history
they're known for ingesting their primary cats
those V12 Vantage is the first jet one
so this has had a primary cat delete done on it
so that wasn't an issue
that had been done 10,000 miles ago
so it wasn't like there's any residue left
everything was fine
so I'm worried like the engine sounds like the engine's blown
and I'm thinking how the fuck can this happen
these V12s do not just blow up
they're still to this day don't know what happened
but because the car had been modified
we weren't able to get an Aston warranty on it
because the car was sold me in month with him
we had to stand by it
and it cost me just over 33 grand to burn your engine
just before Christmas
that was fun
that was a nightmare day
I'd go as far as to say that was top 10 worst days of work ever
but we had to do right by it
a lot of dealers would have wriggled out of that
and I think wear it a Porsche
that kind of logs rev reports and things like that
or wear it on YouTube or someone's Instagram
so we could prove that something malicious had happened
great that would have covered our ass
or were he...
your money shift
I think there's an argument that that could have been
obviously the customer said that wasn't the case
and I do have to believe him
but let's say that did happen for argument's sake
how the hell can I ever prove it
it's going to be in my word against his
where they did strut the engine down
it did look like something
it had all the symptoms of an over rev
but we can't prove it
so we had to stand by that
and yeah
what's your decision making process
like do you make decisions I'm guessing
from the fact that you left school early as well
because you just want to go and get stuff done
I'm guessing you're like that
I'm quite reactive
in the positive like most of the time
and actually with that comes sometimes
where you can act too quickly
and before assessing a full situation
but I'm trying to be as proactive as I can be
so yeah
I'm forever not like no best or see into the future
but some of the younger guys enjoy the tea
and I'm like don't do that
because that could happen with that
and I'm like what are you talking about
just trust me on this
I've been here before
can you give us an example
I don't know it just
even stupid things like
certain cars come in one night
and I'm like make sure that goes on trickle charge
and it's just arrived
it'll be fine
I'm like no no no
I've been here before
and last time we couldn't get it unlocked
the next day
even though they've been here before
and they're like
you're mental
I'm like you know I know I am
but can you just listen to me
because I promise you
there's a reason for this
there's method in the madness
but yeah
there's a lot of
you have to be reactive in this world
because it's very hard
like high energy fast paced
you have to be quick to react
to be able to kind of obtain
the the deals that are out there
in mind for us
so would you happily employ a friend
you mentioned before
do you have had them work for you
yeah yeah
would you still do that now
after the experiences
yeah yeah yeah
like majority of them
have worked out very habitably
and some of them
whilst some still work for me
some have been gone
hasn't worked out a couple of times
but that's life
and yeah now I think it's
employing someone
who you kind of know
intimately entrusts
I wouldn't necessarily
go into business
for the friend per se
I think that that point
where it becomes a bit of a
50-50 type thing
it can be a bit tricky
but yeah I don't like to be the guy
in charge
I've got no ego about any of this
but whether it's a clear structure
if they are in frankly
just as an employee
it's a lot easier to manage
expectations and kind of roles
and without them
taking personal me
taking personally
if there was one car brand
that you had to choose
to just be the only one
that was part of the Jewish
of London space
and sell and go forward
who would you pick and why
It's a very good question
I would go with
I think if you look at
what we sell most of
we sell more
Ferrari's and Porsches
than anything
have done for the last two years
prior to that
it was Mustangs and Range Ravers
so we've gone
like in full spectrum
Porsche
buyers 99
well a nice nice problem in exaggeration
80% of the time
are great
got all the understanding
but we've shied away now
sadly from selling
earlier Caymans
and boxes
and things like that
a lot of the time
their expectations
don't match their budget
and it's a quite a tricky one
to manage that
and you have to kind of
break it to them
Jesus Christ
properly ready
you can put this up
through the mics guys
but I think there's
literally a thunderstorm
coming
yeah
you kind of have to break it to them
sadly their dreams
might not be fulfilled
in the way that they'd hoped
with the budgets
that they've got
the expectations that they have
frankly don't want to be
receiving that either
because that's where things go wrong
people get in there
thinking they bought the best ever
dot dot dot
for
a pittance
and oh my god
no it's got
it's got some things
wrong with it
you're like well
yeah
you've bought the cheapest one
on the market
it was cheap for a reason
yeah that's quite tricky
and then the Ferrari stuff
it's fantastic
more modern stuff
and actually I prefer to sell
because it's less prone to
Ferrari-esque things
that existed
from the 70s through till
probably 10 years ago
but yeah
458 for F12s on
was generally a pretty good
we talk about the building
a lot behind
but I think it's quite relevant
because it's probably the
biggest cost
that you guys
kind of have
in the world of business
and your life right now
and it's obviously been such
a massive undertaking
and huge project
if you were to just
be a car salesman
and sell cars
and have that actual dealership
how much more stressful
would that be
compared to doing all the other
bits around it
in terms of the storage
funding
the cash flow etc
um
it's tricky
because the building split
into so many different sex
if it was just a show
on the ground floor
it would stay
it would be more stressful
naturally
but it would still
just about make commercial sense
but we are heavily
reliant on the other
five floors
that we have in the building
that aren't sales
related
for the event spaces
and for the
the storage
if it was solely dependent
on the sales
the ground floor could
wash its face
and we'd still
you know
it could make a living
providing the sales go well
but to be solely dependent
on those sales
in the market
that we're in at the moment
kind of fills me
with a lot of dread
so
it's not something that I've had
to thankfully rely on
solely for a long time
and yeah
that's why we've continued
to try to diversify things
because the market's so unpredictable
that yeah
I'm glad we've got
kind of fingers in pies
what is it
does it surprise you
where the market
currently at
is that with who
because like
there's speciality selling
for north of half a million
quid
now am I right
yeah yeah and the rest
yeah I mean
not entirely
I think there's
I don't know
for me like a 360 challenge
for Dalai
should not be half a million quid
that the category
because that is
their f***ing great car
but they're
200 grand at best
in my head
however you look in the States
yeah this whole
States bubble thing at the moment
is just full of
unpredictable
almost anomalies
that you or I
couldn't have sat here
and speculated on
18 months ago
and to say
it's sustainable
remains to be seen
because
sorry we didn't expect this to happen
so how do we know
what's going to happen next
I don't know
I've got a
bit glass half empty
about it
although I'm a bit like
rather hedge my bets a bit
and
be a little bit more reserved
per se
but yeah there's
there's a lot of crazy stuff
happening at the moment
and naturally
one thing that was
I think quite predictable
was the way that
kind of pre 1970s
1980s cars
then back to pre-war stuff
had kind of diminished a bit
the audiences for those are
sadly
quite literally perishing
through things
something like a 288 GTO
won't be ads value
no no no
quite the opposite
I think from that era onwards
you're fine
but it's more like
the XK120s of this world
Neetypes
and the
pre-war Bentley's
and a lot of stuff
that we used to do a lot more of
now becoming a much harder sell
and proofs in the pudding
the values are plummeted
if you were to buy
three cars right now
less than half a million quid
oh my god
make a million quid
within the next five years
what would you be buying
I again
I sort of like
hate buying cars of that
mindset
if I was to hedge some bets
I would say things
yeah cars that should
still
your cars that run the value
just go with that
I think cars that still got a long
way to go
SLR Mercedes
I think if you look at what
the rest of them
in Mercedes McLaren it's a lot of
things
where the
the other
competitor cars of their
it'll
have gone to
Carrera GTs
they're a different kind of fish
they were compared back to back
on the top gear episode
and they've always remained
from like rivals of the back of it
they really could not be more
different as cars
ones are GT car
ones one's almost like a hypercar
but I still think at 300 grand
they are good value
I think the flat 12 Ferrari's
Testros is 512s
I think they're very good value
for what they are
you look at what
Contesha's have done
they've gone nuts at val
and Contesha's deserve to go
to where they are at the moment
I think the 512
the TR's the M's
and the
the proper Testros isn't going to
continue to lift up
I nearly traded in my
Perfomante
and 3RS for a
295 grand event store SV
in Orange
with 10,000 miles that came up
not too long ago
I think it was maybe February
the beginning of February
and I didn't do it
because I just had so much going on
that week
that it just was too much stress
under my head to do a car deal as well
and that was generally why I didn't do it at the time
but I really fanced it
and then it was gone
a week later
where do you think that car would be
would be now in such a short period of time
we obviously shifted since
but yeah
it also got to come down
this is one thing I sort of like
show away from these kind of like
what you know investment
you sort of think because
there's a lot of stuff that
I've first me own
and I've lost money on
that I've really enjoyed
and I've really liked
and I don't think we
I think if we get too
fiscal about all of this
it does take a lot of
what I love about this industry away from it
I think I'm quite emotional
about this sort of stuff
and I really do enjoy the journeys
and the adventures
and the stories
and the
having these kind of experiences
with these cars
that you can't put a price on
there is a buffer
there needs to be a stop gap
where you're like
okay this has now cost me so much money
I do need to draw a line here
but yeah
I mean even events tools
I think they'll have their day
if you look at
especially limited run ones
or low production number ones
and I've still got my roses done
first year
700 roads that I absolutely love
that I still feel like
is an undervalued car
993 turbos
you know
there's such limited number car
that they really can't
get any cheaper
from where they're on the way up
but I think they've been undervalued
for a long time
they're finally having their day
the first proper
fast driving Porsche turbo
you know the 964
and the 930 is a great looking car
but to drive
they're not that engaging
so where do you go
and what you've built
and what you do
with all that knowledge
where is the next step
you're already thinking that
even though
of course yeah yeah yeah
I know you claim to be content
yeah no I'm definitely content
I think I'm content
because I kind of also got a plan
and the plan
where the first people would admit
that this was even this place wasn't
it was down to the line
that we actually designed it
and finished it
and thought where everything's
going to go
and whatever else
and I will continue like that
for a while I think
don't want to lose our charm now
but there's ambitions to expand the storage
we've got a new site
coming up at the end of the year
that we'll be able to
almost double off at print and storage
and other than
we're pretty much full at the moment
and have every time we've taken on another
little floor of the car park
wherever we've filled it
in no time at all
so what we're finding is
we're competitive with our pricing
but moreover people
are wanting to come down
and have the kind of experience of being it
and we basically want this
to become their clubhouse
that whatever
we're not going to do
like a members club thing here
but it is
if you are part of the kind of extended family
through storage or through sales
or just because you come down
and you're a regular at the bar
we want you to kind of take a bit of ownership of it
and use it as your own base
we don't want it to just become
like you know if there's
there's some amazing car meat spots out there
and in the UK your coffee machine
done a great job of becoming like a destination
for people to drive from the weekend
and whilst we will entertain meats and stuff like that
we will be hosting a lot of meats
this isn't
this is a kind of different setup
we want this to be a little bit more
I guess family based as it were
in a kind of not so literal sense
but in like a inclusivity way
we want people to come down
and just feel like they can come in work
for the day
host their meetings here
host their birthdays
it's that kind of thing
and we want to expand that to
wherever we next
sort of do more storage
or if we did open a satellite site
and
so how car storage have come
or maybe
well Merlin has been fascinating to find out
who the Duke actually is
and he's a lot more of a wheeler dealer
than I anticipated him to be
so it's been wonderful to get inside your mind
and what you've built in London
because there's been so much for social media
storm around recently
thank you
thank you so much for coming on
thank you
thank you for having me
this is awesome
I love what you do
I think it's great that there's actually
someone actually making the effort
to come and see people like myself
so thank you for coming on
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