RE: Supercar Club Call In Administrators
Monday 27th October 2008
You have to envy the reposession man sometimes...The high profile Segrave ‘supercar’ Club has fallen victim to the credit crunch and called in administrators – although it’s not immediately clear whether the Club will continue trading.
Supercar Club Call In Administrators
Credit crunch takes another bite
You have to envy the reposession man sometimes...
The Segrave Club was inaugurated a year ago by Nick Hancock, the former business partner of Damon Hill with whom he set up P1 International in 2000.
Hancock was also formerly sales director for Ferrari UK, and used his knowledge of the exotic car business sector to create a club designed to offer privileged access to the world’s greatest machinery.
For a one-off joining fee of £5,000 and an annual subscription of £16,000, the Segrave Club has been offering members between 50 and 60 days each at the wheel of a range of stunning exotics. According to the company’s website the vehicle roster currently includes a Porsche Carerra GT, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Lamborghini Murcielargo and Ferrari F599 GTB Fiorano amongst others.
The Segrave Club telephone was being diverted to voicemail when PH tried to call this morning, but marketing chief Simon Turner has confirmed to us that urgent discussions are taking place today that are likely to determine the Club’s future. More when we have it.
Discussion
As much as there may well be a reduction in some customers, surely there are a new breed who may now sell up their new Porsche or whatever, and instead go for a car club membership for a few years?
This one does seem to be the top-end of the market though. P1 membership is layered though, with half memberships too, so chances are the nigh on highest mainstream price might put it at odds in the current market.
Hmmm
Dave
This one does seem to be the top-end of the market though. P1 membership is layered though, with half memberships too, so chances are the nigh on highest mainstream price might put it at odds in the current market.
Hmmm
Dave
96eight said:
This is not the credit crunch at all.
The fact that there are no comments on this shows that there is little interest in these types of clubs.
What the recession does is to weed out poor businesses.
Winess the stupid over development of harbour and dockside apartments.
The fact that there are little or more comments is that most people here aren't in a financial position to join these clubs.The fact that there are no comments on this shows that there is little interest in these types of clubs.
What the recession does is to weed out poor businesses.
Winess the stupid over development of harbour and dockside apartments.
I personally am sorry to hear this. I met up with Nick and the team in the summer, and they were an experienced and dedicated team. I take issue with some of the comments posted - there is certainly a market for these types of club, but at the moment many of them cannot get finance/ insurance, and are having tens of thousands of pounds wiped of their asset base every month, just like car dealers.
I wish them all the best of luck in these difficult times.
I wish them all the best of luck in these difficult times.
96eight said:
This is not the credit crunch at all.
The fact that there are no comments on this shows that there is little interest in these types of clubs.
What the recession does is to weed out poor businesses.
Winess the stupid over development of harbour and dockside apartments.
I couldn't disagree more.The fact that there are no comments on this shows that there is little interest in these types of clubs.
What the recession does is to weed out poor businesses.
Winess the stupid over development of harbour and dockside apartments.
I think that, ironically, the current financial troubles of the global markets will actually help these clubs; people might not want the risk of owning a car themselves, but for a fixed known cost can plan accordingly.
I can't remember who it was on PH but...
...someone definitely posted recently about being very careful about who you join, as car clubs in the current climate might take your dosh and could well go under...leaving you with nothing but a hole in your bank account.
Seems as thought the warning has come true.
...someone definitely posted recently about being very careful about who you join, as car clubs in the current climate might take your dosh and could well go under...leaving you with nothing but a hole in your bank account.
Seems as thought the warning has come true.
Not Ideal said:
Bloody hell..!! Had only been going a year..!!
Is this the end for P1 and Ecurie as well..??
I get the impression that those two are pretty established, which is a big advantage, most people I would imagine would go for one of the clubs that have been around a while, as they will have built up a fairly loyal set of central customers and it's easier to attract further customers because they are perceived as having less chance of failure simply because they have been around a long time.Is this the end for P1 and Ecurie as well..??
These clubs have always been a bit of a risk when they start up and in the first year or so, in the current climate that is doubly so. Seagrave was also quite a bit more expensive and exclusive than more other clubs from I remember, which automatically limits the amount of potential customers. The other clubs aren't as exclusive in either their cars nor pricing so even in a recession they have more potential customers than Seagrave, plus they can potentially also grab some customers from the more exclusive clubs who might be 'downsizing' a bit, so they should be alright.
SleeperCell said:
Not Ideal said:
Bloody hell..!! Had only been going a year..!!
Is this the end for P1 and Ecurie as well..??
I get the impression that those two are pretty established, which is a big advantage, most people I would imagine would go for one of the clubs that have been around a while, as they will have built up a fairly loyal set of central customers and it's easier to attract further customers because they are perceived as having less chance of failure simply because they have been around a long time.Is this the end for P1 and Ecurie as well..??
These clubs have always been a bit of a risk when they start up and in the first year or so, in the current climate that is doubly so. Seagrave was also quite a bit more expensive and exclusive than more other clubs from I remember, which automatically limits the amount of potential customers. The other clubs aren't as exclusive in either their cars nor pricing so even in a recession they have more potential customers than Seagrave, plus they can potentially also grab some customers from the more exclusive clubs who might be 'downsizing' a bit, so they should be alright.
No sympathy I'm afraid. I know it's tough and it's crap seeing people lose jobs; but exactly why does someone join one of these clubs? No different to buying a house, car or yacht on finance that you can't afford surely? It's just people putting on an image or living a lifestyle that is not real.
The problem comes when either 'members' are bored of the cars or cannot drive what they want when they want. Running costs can be pretty huge, not just of the cars but of the offices, the marketing, the event side and the salaraies of the staff. How many people realistically in the UK will spend upto £20k a year on a joining a car club or running a supercar. I would say no more than two thousand people nationwide and many of thes ealready have theor own stable.
A great idea but not one to succeed in 'The Dragons Den'. Cash flow, depreciation and overheads killed this one.
A great idea but not one to succeed in 'The Dragons Den'. Cash flow, depreciation and overheads killed this one.
This seems a real shame, altho, as mentioned there does seem to have been quite a few of these clubs cropping up over the last year or so.
Comments like if you are able to afford £20k a year you can afford to buy a supercar, are frankly just total crap. The whole point of these clubs is you get to drive these cars without having to worry about depriciation, servicing etc etc..You'd loose that £20k on most of them overnight if you purchased from new, let alone service costs.
Having said that, I wonder what happened with all those £20k's that people have forked out to begin with...
Comments like if you are able to afford £20k a year you can afford to buy a supercar, are frankly just total crap. The whole point of these clubs is you get to drive these cars without having to worry about depriciation, servicing etc etc..You'd loose that £20k on most of them overnight if you purchased from new, let alone service costs.
Having said that, I wonder what happened with all those £20k's that people have forked out to begin with...
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