► Hampsons Auctions return to the auction scene after being absent since the 1990s
► The first sale takes place - live - at the Oulton Park Gold Cup in August 2020
► For all latest auction calendar, visit Classic Cars for Sale
► Visit the Hampson Auctions website for more information
The Gold Cup’s nail-biting races have long brought classic fans to Oulton Park, but now you’ll be able to bid on cars at the event, too.
Three classic fans are planning to hold the first in a new series of auctions at the Oulton Park Gold Cup in August. Hampson Auctions said that it will hold regular sales in Cheshire and London and is now consigning cars for its first sale, due to be held at the Oulton Park Gold Cup on 29-31 August.
It’s a return for a name not seen on the classic market since the late 1990s, and is run by former H&H managing director, Mark Hamilton, son Zach and classic expert, Guy Loveridge. Zach Hamilton said: ‘Auctions was a massive part of my life when I was growing up and I’ve always had a passion for classics, so this is an itch that I’ve always wanted to scratch. The Oulton Park Gold Cup is a great event to start at, too – it’s where my father held his first sale, so it’s a case of history repeating itself.
‘We came to the decision to launch Hampson before the coronavirus outbreak hit the UK, but the classic car market is still buoyant, something that’s being helped by the interest rates at the moment, and I’m confident that it will continue to be so for the years to come.
A brave venture that ‘isn’t that far away’
‘I think that as restrictions across the UK are lifted, more events will be held in the months to come, and equally more people will start going back to live auctions – they like to be able to see and hear cars. The only thing that I think will change is that people will be more confident with bidding online after what’s happened over the last few months.’
Hampson said that while it has been given assurances from Motor Sport Vision that this year’s Gold Cup will be going ahead as planned, it added that it was ready to hold the sale on an online-only basis if the event had to be cancelled due to a second wave of infections. It also added that the sale will be held using an outdoor marquee at the circuit to minimise the spread of infection, with all social distancing guidelines duly followed.
Vendors taking part in the first sale will be charged nothing to do so, with no commission and no selling fee, while buyers will still pay the normal 12.5% plus VAT on top of the hammer price. The auctioneer plans to publish its first catalogue come the middle of August.
Market comment
CCW’s markets editor, Richard Barnett, said: ‘It takes a brave person to announce a new auction company in these strange times but here at least the people behind the name have the experience and the understanding. ‘Holding a sale at an event is something we’re already seeing – think Bonhams at Goodwood and Silverstone Auctions at the Silverstone Classic. I’d be interested in seeing what’s been consigned because, let’s face it, the end of August really isn’t that far away.’
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