Richard Hudson-Evans
While the business of Government has been democratically paralysed by the electorate pencilling their primitive X in the wrong boxes, CCA defied the economic malaise that has depressed most sectors in post-Election UK by selling 77% of the 158 classics for £1.8m in a very well attended 5¾ hour Saturday afternoon session at the Warwickshire Event Centre.
Another market confidence boosting stat in Leamington Spa was that 21 of the 122 sellers out-performed their pre-sale estimates – notably, a Lambo Countach 5000S ‘Evocation’ with Lexus 4.0 V8 in the tail making £50,050, £25,050 more than forecast. While a freshly imported 1970 280SL Merc fetched £62,700, £7700 above guide, a 1978 Daimler Sovereign lwb £36,520, £6520 more than expected, and a 1991 Honda NSX manual £41,250, £5259 over estimate.
A 1997 BMW E36 M3 Evo Cab with matching hardtop sold for £12,980, £4980 more than the up to £8000 that had been forecast, and £20,350 was forthcoming for a 1989 XJS V12 Convertible, £4650 above estimate. A remarkably original 1982 BMW 635 E24 CSI motored well, too, out-performing a forecast £25,000-30,000 to sell for £34,320, while a 1990 190E Cosworth 2.5-16 with £10,000-12,000 on the screen went for £15,950. A 1968 MGC GT auto with Webasto-roof sold for £23,650 to overtake its estimate by £3650 and a 1989 Lotus Esprit Turbo, estimated at £10,000-12,000 and the subject of a pre-Categorised insurance claim, fetched £13,750, £1750 over guide.
But although Sterling invoiced classics have never been better value for those paying in dollars or euros, few foreign languages can be heard in the salerooms or on the phones as most popularly priced stock continues to be bought by those natives who still have the balls to consume.
For other than classic cars, of course, most alternative destinations for taxed income have never been less attractive as even the inadequate returns from safe and boring ISAs are more than wiped out by the reality of the latest inflation figures. For due to the increasing cost of imports and foreign hols following the Brexit vote, UK inflation rose from 2.7% in April to 2.9% in May, the highest savings-eroding stat for four years. May retail sales meanwhile softened in sympathy by 1.2%.
Land-locked property investments are too costly, complicated and long-term for most gamblers with modest means and only risky equities, it seems, have been outperforming other Indices. The S&P Global 1200, for instance, has put on 1.78% in May and has grown in value by 9.41% year to date, dividends being a bonus for long-termers.
On Election Day itself, and before any exit poll predictions had destroyed the prospects of a Tory landslide, 76% of the classics in and around the DVCA auction tent pitched in the Athelhampton House gardens had sold for £237,805 with premium. The star turn in deepest Dorset was a Hong Kong sourced 1964 Jaguar E Type S1 3.8 Roadster project, some of it in boxes, taken on for £80,300.
Whilst even after the reality of a Hung Parliament and the prospect of a change of far from stable Government driven by a permanently damaged PM had been digested by stakeholders in UK plc, Barons also did well to sell 40 classics, 61% of the 66 cars in their Sandown Park catalogue, for another £389,390.