JD Classics in administration
Essex-based historic vehicle specialist put up for sale after its finances come under scrutiny; website and car sales forecourt still operating
International classic car dealer, JD Classics, was placed in administration by consultancy firm Alvarez and Marsal Europe LLP (A&M) on 10 September.
The operation, which has three showrooms and around 110 cars in stock across sites in London, Essex and California, has 72 staff on its payroll; JD Classics’ website shut down temporarily when administration was announced, then returned on 12 September. A&M managing directors, Mark Firmin, Richard Beard and Richard Fleming, were put in charge of JD Classics’ affairs in order to find a new owner for the business. Car sales and restoration work continued as normal in the interim, with staff, customers and creditors informed of the change in management. A statement issued to the press by A&M on 10 September cited ‘a number of historical financial irregularities’ as the reason for JD Classics’ sale.
Best known for its high-profile racing exploits, as well as classic vehicle sales and restoration, JD Classics participated in the Goodwood Revival and Silverstone Classic, as well as European events such as the Le Mans Classic, Rétromobile, Mille Miglia, Targa Florio and Spa Six Hours.
Trading at the top end of the market, JD Classics’ pre-tax profit was declared in the ID 50 – a ranking of the UK’s top 50 independent car dealers – at £21m in 2016. A year later, following nearly a decades’ worth of success at Pebble Beach in the US, it opened a showroom in California with North American dealer, Morris and Welford.
Company founder, Derek Hood, who started the firm selling a Jaguar Mk2 from his driveway, left earlier this year, and was replaced with former Lotus chief executive officer, Jean-Marc Gales; his team, according to A&M’s statement, ‘made considerable progress in stabilising the business and improving operations.’
Nobody from the company responded to Classic Car Weekly’s requests for comment before this week’s issue went to press, but A&M’s managing director, Mark Firmin, said: ‘Whilst JD Classics has now entered administration, the business continues to trade.
‘We are hopeful that a sale can be achieved in the next few days, ensuring the ongoing employment of the workforce.’
❚ jdclassics.co.uk
‘JD Classics is in adminstration, but the business continues to trade’ MARK FIRMIN, A&M EUROPE LLP