Dubai auction venture opens for UK's Collecting Cars

Listening to Edward Lovett, I am struck by deja vu. Years ago, I met John Madejski, the British entrepreneur who described how he had the idea for what became Auto Trader. He was in the US and saw in a magazine pictures of automobiles for sale. He returned home, developed a publication dedicated to the buying and selling of cars , and amassed a fortune. It sounded that simple. Likewise Lovett. He’s the founder and chief executive of Collecting Cars, the global online auction site . He’s since added a Collecting Watches offshoot. In only five years, the platform has sold more than 23,500 vehicles and watches worldwide, generating £750 million-plus ($950 million) for the sellers. His Collecting Group has risen to be one of the biggest UK 20 private companies and has offices in London , Hong Kong, Sydney plus now Dubai . Lovett offers a free-to-list and free-to-sell service, charging the buyer 6 per cent of the sale price for cars and bikes, and 10 per cent for parts and plates. The items he sells are covetable and collectible . Some, including the Ferrari F50 once owned by Rod Stewart which fetched £2.92 million and is the most expensive the firm has sold, are revered by car enthusiasts. To date, 30 supercars have gone under the digital hammer, each for more than $1 million, among them as well, a Ferrari F12 TDF that used to belong to Jamiroquai singer, Jay Kay. The total value of million-dollar car sales via his site has gone past $55 million. Others are less super. The average price across the lots so far is £57,000. “We’re just as happy to sell a Mini for £10,000 as we are Rod’s former Ferrari,” says Lovett, beaming. All, though, must appeal. “They have to be good quality and have that added extra. We wouldn’t take a VW Golf GTI that had done 300,000 miles and was rusty but we might take one that had done 15,000 miles and only one owner.” The vehicle, he says, “must be something that is interesting to an enthusiast. Because we’re enthusiasts ourselves we know what we’re looking for. The site is heavily curated – we will accept about one in five of the cars that are offered to us.” Lovett grew up in a West Country car-dealing family. “It’s a 60-year-old business, operating at the top end. Cars were my whole life.” He visited traditional car auctions in the UK and US, and realised there was a better way. “I thought 'why are we letting a cohort of big auction houses take all the business? We can do the same but online.”' He employs expert copywriters to describe the vehicles and their technical specifications. And, to get around the problem of potential buyers not being able to touch and feel the car, and see what’s under the bonnet and inside, sellers will upload 100 to 150 highly detailed close-up pictures of the engine, wheels, underneath and interior. “The seller needs to disclose everything. When the car goes on the site, interested buyers can ask anything about it.” Equally, he insists it avoids the buyer being left with a piece of scrap metal, a vehicle that is falling apart, or is two welded together, or with a mileage clock that has been altered. “People can buy duds at physical auctions. Typically, they will get carried away and buy something with a load of rust.” His timing was lucky, coinciding with the pandemic, during which physical auctions were suspended for a period, and boosted his start-up. Under his model, Collecting Cars will hold 6 per cent of a person’s total bid until the auction ends, to ensure the bid’s legitimacy. If they don’t win, the money is released back to them immediately. The winner has seven days to complete payment and arrange collection of the car. To date, the site has about 300,000 registered users and he’s sold to more than 100 countries. Typical delivery costs are £15,000 if flown and £3,000-5,000 for shipping. Stewart’s ex-Ferrari was located in southern England, near Gatwick, and sent by air to the buyer in Australia. Collecting Cars has sold 107 cars in the Middle East, including a 2007 Lamborghini Murcielago LP640-4 Versace Edition for $240,500, from a seller in UAE to the US, and a 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM Cabriolet, also from the UAE to the US, for $387,000. By opening in Dubai, he aims to secure more. “There is growing wealth based in Dubai and UAE. Expats are going there to work and to save tax dollars and pounds. Many of them, locals too, are interested in buying and owning luxury items, and cars and watches fit into that category. Now is a good time for us to be putting boots on the ground in UAE.” The cars can be driven. The Stewart Ferrari is “one of the most visceral road-legal cars ever designed and it’s no wonder Rod fell in love with it”. They’re also a sound investment, rising in value typically at the rate of 8 per cent a year. Most popular, Lovett says, are Porsches. “They’re number one, there are plenty of them.” There are eight Porsche Carrera GTs in the top 30, including a model formerly owned by racing driver Jenson Button, which sold for just over $1 million in 2021. “There is a growing desire for cars from the 1980s and 1990s, from the younger age group of buyers.” They’re online savvy, not fazed by buying online and they remember the cars of their youth. They also want cars they can drive, often attending events with their fellow collectors. Cars from that period are experiencing rising demand, whereas the collectible cars of yesteryear, from the 1920s, 1930s through to the 1960s, such as vintage Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, are seeing a decline. Now, Lovett has added watches to his portfolio. He makes it seem so straightforward. It’s not, of course. Madejski again comes to mind. When he described the launch of Auto Trader, Madejski said how he loved cars himself and how he had a new house built, complete with turntable to showcase his pride and joy, a particular type of Ferrari. Nothing ever changes, it simply evolves.