This Dentist has so many cars
he keeps them in enormous warehouses is selling his 450 classic vehicles for 100
MILLION (that's pounds)
- James
Hull has built up collection of unusual
and valuable cars, from Elton John's old Bentley to rare Jaguar
KXSS
- Multi-millionaire Dr Hull, 53,
of Kensington, West
London, keeps all his precious cars in
warehouses in Herefordshire
- Having fought off cancer three
times, he now wants to quit the collection, and is determined to sell it as a
whole
- The founder of cosmetic
dentistry pioneers
James
Hull Associates hopes to find a buyer
with 100 million in
Britain
- Collection includes a rare
Jaguar D-Type worth at least 4 million, old pedal cars, and a Sinclair C5 from
the 1980s
A car-obsessed dentist who
has amassed Britains biggest private car collection is selling the whole lot for
100 million.
JamesHull, 53, who founded
the
James
Hull Associates chain of
dentists, owns more than 450 rare and classic cars, ranging from multi-million
pound rare Jaguars to Winston Churchill's Austin, and a Bentley once owned by
Elton John.
With no room to park them
all near his home in Kensington, West
London, he garages them in vast
warehouses in Herefordshire, but has now decided to sell up because of health
reasons.
Britain's largest private car collection, built up by cosmetic dentistry millionaire JamesHull, 53, is for sale as a whole for 100 million.
All yours... if you've got
deep pockets: Dr Hull's 457-strong car collection is currently kept in
warehouses in Herefordshire
Dr Hull's collection
includes this classic Triumph TR5, left, built in Coventry in the late 1960s,
and this classic racing car, right, driven in this picture by Stirling
Moss
Planes (no trains) and
automobiles: Dr Hull has collected Bentleys, Rolls Royces and Jaguars, as well
as some aircraft from the First and Second WorldWars
None of the cars is cheap,
but a buyer with particularly deep pockets is needed, because Dr Hull says he is
determined to sell the 457-strong collection as a whole.
He is hoping a buyer will
come in with a 100 million-plus offer, making it the highest value car sale
inBritain.
With cars represented from
every decade since the 1930s, the collection includes a Jaguar D-Type, worth in
excess of 4 million, a similarly valuable Jaguar C-Type, and Lord Mountbatten's
Mini Traveller, as well as a super-rare 1950s Jaguar KXSS.
The collection also includes
a Humber which was owned by the judge presiding over the Profumo Affair and a
1961 Jaguar E-Type which belonged toBritains world motorcycle champion Mike
Hailwood.
Dr Hull, who made his
fortune pioneering cosmetic dentistry in the UK , has battled cancer three times
in the past four years, earning him the nickname Lazarus to friends. He
travelled around the world to track down some of the rarer models in his
collection, shipping them back to
Britain
and then having them
stripped down before rebuilding them.
This classic Bentley is
among Dr Hull's collection - he travelled the world finding rare cars before
shipping them back to
Britain
and having them
restored
As well as full-size cars,
the collection includes more than 300 miniature pedal cars, seen at the
back
This bottle green Morris
Minor forms part of the collection, which boasts cars from every decade since
the 1930s
He said: 'It's the
culmination of a life-long hobby. Each car has its own story and all have played
a part in the history of British motoring. It's part of our
heritage.
'I'm merely a passionate
custodian of this hugely significant part of British history and, with luck, I
will succeed in finding a home that can not only be enjoyed and treasured by the
British public but also be admired by visitors from across the
world.'
A number of Dr Hull's cars
have appeared at motor shows around the world, competed in the Mille Miglia
Italian road-race, and even been used for the Queens 80th birthday
parade.
There are also dozens of
cars which have won concours awards, and a collection of British campervans from
the 1940s, 50s and 60s, as well as early Land Rovers, classic Range Rovers, and
a Sinclair C5 from the 1980s.
The collection, which is
being sold privately, has already had a 'huge amount of interest' from private
buyers and consortia, from overseas as well as nearer to home, but Dr Hull hopes
it will remain in
Britain.
Graham Searle, from the
Jaguar Enthusiasts Club, said: 'Dr Hull is a well known Jaguar Enthusiasts Club
member with an immense passion for Jaguar cars.
Mint condition: This shining
red Mini Traveller was once owned by Lord Mountbatten, and is now for sale as
part of a job lot going for at least 100 million
Stamp-collecting next? Once
he has sold his cars, including this classic Jaguar XK, Dr Hull says he will
need a new hobby, but he hasn't picked one yet
'Most of his cars are very
original or restored to original specification with great attention to detail,
and over the years he must have won more concours awards than any other Jaguar
collector.
'He does immense service to
the classic car movement in keeping these cars in top condition, and the sale of
the collection will attract enormous interest from around the
world.
'We of course hope that
whoever buys them allows them to be seen and enjoyed by enthusiasts for years to
come.'
James
Hull made his money after
founding
James
Hull Associates in 1987,
becoming the market leader in cosmetic dentistry, specialising in teeth
whitening, veneers and implants.
He was devastated in 2006
when vandals broke into one of his warehouses, before hotwiring the Jaguars and
crashing dozens of them. Police later said they had 'treated the cars like
dodgems'.
Over the past decade, prices
for classic cars have shot up, outperforming every other investment and sending
the value of the collection soaring.
If he finds a suitable
buyer, Dr Hull will need a new hobby, but he's not yet sure what it will
be.
He said: 'Im a
collector, so who knows what will turn up next. My wife hopes it will be
something smaller like stamps.'
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