David Wickins
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David Allen Wickins (15 February 1920 – 28 January 2007) was an English accountant-turned-entrepreneur, best known for founding the vehicle remarketing business
British Car Auctions Constellation Automotive Group is a used vehicle marketplace. It was founded in the United Kingdom in 1946, as Southern Counties Car Auctions, and was a publicly traded company, BCA Marketplace, when acquired and taken private by TDR Capital in ...
, and saving
Lotus Cars Lotus Group (also known as Lotus Cars) is a British multinational automotive manufacturer of luxury sports cars and electric vehicles. Lotus Group is composed of three primary entities. Lotus Cars, a high-performance sports car company, is ba ...
.


Early life

David Allen Wickins was born in Tilehurst, near
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
, Berkshire on 15 February 1920. The seventh child of an architect-turned- builder who was 64 when David was born, his father was one of the first civilian casualties killed in London at the start of the
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
air raids during the Second World War. His mother was a successful antiques dealer, enabling him to be educated at St George's College, Weybridge, by Josephites. Wickins described his schooling as ''"very academic, very hard"'', though an aptitude for figures allowed him to run a betting book for fellow pupils.


Early career

On leaving school he was recommended to apply to take articles with accountants Deloitte & Co in London. On gaining his chartered membership, he volunteered to be posted to
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
, South Africa, working on
financial audit A financial audit is conducted to provide an opinion whether "financial statements" (the information is verified to the extent of reasonable assurance granted) are stated in accordance with specified criteria. Normally, the criteria are interna ...
s for
Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...
n
copper mine Copper extraction is the multi-stage process of obtaining copper from its ores. The conversion of copper ores consists of a series of physical, chemical, and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ...
s and Zambian
sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
s.


Second World War

At the start of the Second World War, due to the death of his father he decided to avoid the heavy conflict in Europe and joined the
South African Navy The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force. The Navy is primarily engaged in maintaining a conventional military deterrent, participating in counter-piracy operations, fishery prote ...
. Seconded to the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
after 18 months, he reluctantly returned to England. Serving as a lieutenant in motor torpedo boats based in
East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...
patrolling the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
, he served alongside both
Edward du Cann Sir Edward Dillon Lott du Cann (28 May 1924 – 31 August 2017) was a British politician and businessman. He was a member of Parliament (MP) from 1956 to 1987 and served as Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1967 and as chairman ...
(later a Conservative politician) and Owen Aisher (later a noted yachtsman/entrepreneur).


British Car Auctions

In 1946 and still a Royal Navy officer, Wickins was offered a commission in the South African Navy, with immediate deployment on their duties in managing the reconstruction of Japan. Deciding to take the offer, he needed to sell his Riley Lynx tourer. Placing an advert in the local newspaper, he offered to sell the car to the first person who turned up at his mothers house with £200. Arriving home late, he found a crowd of eager buyers, and so auctioned the car off for £420. Wickins then rented a farmer's field at Frimley Bridges, now under junction 4 of the M3 motorway, and set up his first public auction. The 14 cars auctioned sold for a total of £8,250. Wickins and one of his brothers immediately founded Southern Counties Car Auctions Ltd, which after exiting the Royal Navy shortly afterwards he expanded across the UK by selling surplus ex-
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
and
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
vehicles for the
Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
. Wickins then expanded the company across Europe and the United States through acquisition. This included the purchase of the car auctions division of British conglomerate Hawley Goodall, owned by
Michael Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft Michael Anthony Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft, (born 4 March 1946) is a British-Belizean businessman, pollster and politician. He is a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. Ashcroft founded Michael A. Ashcroft Associates in 1972 and was ...
. This proved to be the start of a lifelong friendship between Wickins and Ashcroft, and through his
Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...
and
Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...
based holdings in various banks, Ashcroft would finance a number of Wickins later ventures. In 1987, Ashcroft bought out the existing shareholders of BCA via Hawley Goodall, and closed down Wickins treasured aviation division, which flew both Jet Ranger helicopters and
Beechcraft King Air The Beechcraft King Air is a line of American utility aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The King Air line comprises a number of twin-turboprop models that have been divided into two families. The Model 90 and 100 series developed in the 1960s ...
turbo prop aircraft. The company initially had offices at the Frimley Bridges site, but later moved to purpose-built premises at Blackbushe Airport,
Yateley Yateley () is a town and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire. It lies in the north-eastern corner of Hart District Council area, and is approximately 33 mi (53 km) southwest of Central London. It includes the settlements of Frogmo ...
, where the aviation division was based. Employing 160 at its head office, Wickins had built the company into the largest car auction business in the world by the time of his retirement in 1990. Today, still based at Blackbushe but owned by an
investment banking Investment banking is an advisory-based financial service for institutional investors, corporations, governments, and similar clients. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by und ...
division of
HSBC HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...
, BCA claims to be Europe's largest vehicle auctioning company, employing 5,000 people, and selling 1.3 million vehicles that generate a turnover of £3.3billion.


Other ventures

After
British Leyland British Leyland was a British automotive engineering and manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate formed in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It wa ...
decided to close the
MG Cars MG is a British automotive marque founded by Cecil Kimber in the 1920s, and M.G. Car Company Limited was the British sports car manufacturer existing between 1930 and 1972 that made the marque well known. Since 2007 the marque has been contro ...
factory at Abingdon in 1980, Wickins became involved with a group of businessmen aiming to finance
Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC () is a British manufacturer of Luxury car, luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Headed from 1947 by David Brown (entrepreneur ...
's purchase of the brand and factory. Led by Alan Curtis (Chairman of Aston Martin), the group consisted of Wickins,
Peter Cadbury Peter Egbert Cadbury (6 February 1918 – 17 April 2006) was a British entrepreneur. Early life and education Cadbury was born at Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, the son of Sir Egbert Cadbury and his wife, Mary Forbes, the daughter of Rev. Forbes P ...
, Lord George-Brown and the Norwest construction. The consortia commissioned
William Towns William Towns (1936–1993) also known as Bill Towns, was a British car designer, most known for his designs for Aston Martin, including the 1967 DBS, as well as the futuristic and angular Mk.II Lagonda and Bulldog concept car. Design career ...
to design an updated MG MGB, which was produced at
Newport Pagnell Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area. The town is separated from the rest of the u ...
in six days, ready for the publicity presentation. However, rejected outright by BL, this project failed to materialise. After the death of founder Colin Chapman in 1982, Wickins became involved with
Lotus Cars Lotus Group (also known as Lotus Cars) is a British multinational automotive manufacturer of luxury sports cars and electric vehicles. Lotus Group is composed of three primary entities. Lotus Cars, a high-performance sports car company, is ba ...
in 1983, taking a 29% stake in the then troubled company. After bringing in other investors and negotiating with the
Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...
, he oversaw a turnaround in the sports car manufacturer's fortunes, which resulted in him being called "The saviour of Lotus". Wickins oversaw the sale of the business to
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
in 1986. In March 1983, Wickins was asked to lead a private-sector consortia to help save the Meriden Workers Co-operative. The co-op owned the
Triumph Engineering Triumph Engineering Co Ltd was a British motorcycle manufacturing company, based originally in Coventry and then in Meriden. A new company, Triumph Motorcycles Ltd, based in Hinckley, gained the name rights after the end of the company in the ...
company, the stuttering residual and by then near-bankrupt component of the once world dominant British motorcycling industry, by then solely producing the Triumph Bonneville T140. Wickins gathered a £500,000 private investment fund together from five investors, including BCA, United Dominions Trust and GEC/ Binatone. But civil servants, with advising merchant bankers and commercial accountants, considered that at least £1 million was required to save the company and reconstruct it. Despite briefly considering buying the bankrupt Hesketh Motorcycles, and touting a 900cc prototype water-cooled twin at the 1983 National Exhibition Show to attract outside investment, the Conservative-led UK government refused to back the co-op, resulting in Triumph Motorcycles (Meriden) Ltd becoming bankrupt on 23 August 1983. By early 1983, Lord Ashcroft's Hawley Goodall Ltd had built up a 20% stake in pharmaceutical packaging manufacturer Cope Allman. Ashcroft offered to increase his stake to 29.9%, just below the 30% level at which a formal bid for the entire company must be launched. Ashcroft and Cope Allman fought bitterly over the purchase share price and current holdings, with Cope Allman reporting Ashcroft and Wickins to the
Takeover panel The Panel on Takeovers and Mergers, or more commonly The Takeover Panel, is the United Kingdom's regulatory body charged with the administration of The Takeover Code. It was set up in 1968 and is located in London, England. Its role is to ens ...
, after discovering that BCA had built up a 13.5% in the company. But the takeover panel found that the Ashcroft and Wickins were operating independently, so Hawley was able to increase its holding to 29.9%. At this point the combined holdings of Hawley/BCA in Cope Allman amounted to 43.5%, giving them the power to introduce sweeping changes without launching a full bid. Cope Allman was eventually sold to an MBO backed by Hawley and financed by
Bain Capital Bain Capital, LP is an American Investment company, private investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, with around $185 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, p ...
, and then sold to Bowater in 1992 in a complex swap of assets with ADT/Hawley. In 1985 Ashcroft and Wickins bought car sales dealership Henlys Group via a Canadian-registered company. Controlled by Ashcroft's Hawley Goodall, Henlys was merged with funeral
hearse A hearse () is a large vehicle, originally a horse carriage but later with the introduction of motor vehicles, a car, used to carry the body of a deceased person in a coffin to a funeral, wake, or graveside service. They range from deliberately ...
makers Coleman Milne to form a Motoring Division. In 1989, Hawley Goodall sold its Motoring Division consisting of Henlys and Coleman Milne to the Plaxton Group, the bus and coach manufacturer based in
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...
, North Yorkshire. Wickins became involved with Charles Forte, Baron Forte, joining the board of
Forte Group Forte Group plc was a British hotel and restaurant company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, F ...
to enable the family to sell-off the catering and restaurant business to concentrate on their hotel business. In the 1970s, Wickins bought "The Mariners"
public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
in Frensham, in an ill-fated attempt to turn it into a high-class restaurant. It was one of his many business ventures, not of all which succeeded, commenting later that his motto was: "If you don't bet on a few losers, you'll never bet on a winner."


Sports

Wickins learnt to ride in his 40s, and founded the Priory Equestrian Centre at Frensham. Through this he became involved in horse racing as both a breeder and owner, later sponsoring champion
National Hunt racing National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, horse racing in Great Britain, Great Britain and horse racing in Ireland, Ireland. Jump Racin ...
jockey Bob Champion. A near-scratch golfer, Wickins sponsored
Nick Faldo Sir Nicholas Alexander Faldo (born 18 July 1957) is an English retired professional golfer and television commentator. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his dedication to the game, and was ranked No. ...
. Through golf and his long association with the Conservative Party, he met and befriended Denis Thatcher. Wickins later agreed to sponsor Mark Thatcher's
motor racing An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...
activities through BCA. Denis later served on one of Wickins companies boards, while Mark Thatcher served as chairman of Lotus Cars in North America. In 1989, the year of his retirement from BCA, the company sponsored the ladies tennis competition the
Wightman Cup The Wightman Cup was an annual team tennis competition for women contested from 1923 through 1989 (except during World War II) between teams from the United States and Great Britain. History U.S. player Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman wanted to generat ...
in his honour, the last time that it was played. As a result, Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
threw a party at
10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London is the official residence and office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom. Colloquially known as Number 10, the building is located in Downing Street, off Whitehall in th ...
.


Personal life

Wickins was married at least five, possibly six times. He had been married at least once and possibly twice before he left South Africa. On leaving the Royal Navy he married Diana Gordon, with whom he had his first two children. His subsequent two marriages bore one daughter, with his final marriage to Karen Young in 1969 enduring the rest of his life, and bringing the couple three daughters. Having lived at 99
Park Lane Park Lane is a dual carriageway road in the City of Westminster in Central London. It is part of the London Inner Ring Road and runs from Hyde Park Corner in the south to Marble Arch in the north. It separates Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park to ...
in London during his business career, the former home of the
Sheriff of London Two Sheriffs of the City of London are elected annually by the members of the City livery companies. Today's Sheriffs have only ceremonial duties, but the historical officeholders held important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ...
Sir Moses Montefiore (1784/1885), Wickins died at his home in
Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...
, Spain aged 86, on 28 January 2007.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wickins, David Military personnel from Reading, Berkshire Royal Navy officers People from Tilehurst British accountants South African military personnel of World War II Royal Navy officers of World War II English racehorse owners and breeders English expatriates in South Africa English expatriates in Spain 1920 births 2007 deaths British company founders South African Navy personnel 20th-century English businesspeople