The Steeple Times

Category: Expansion

  • Bentley Booms; Rolls-Royce Roars – 2022 Sales Totals Surge In Spite Of Cost-Of-Living Crisis

    Bentley Booms; Rolls-Royce Roars – 2022 Sales Totals Surge In Spite Of Cost-Of-Living Crisis

    Matthew Steeples reports that both Bentley and Rolls-Royce saw sales boom in 2022 in spite of the war between Russia and Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis

    Whilst 2022 saw Russian oligarchs having their assets seized and the cost-of-living crisis kicking-in in Britain and beyond for more regular folk, it seems the ultra-high-net-worths (UHNWs) with a penchant for a ‘prestige motor’ didn’t put their pennies away. Yesterday, Bentley Motors revealed their sales last year increased by 4%; Rolls-Royce Motor Cars increased by 8%.

     

    With Bentley selling a total of 15,174 cars and Rolls-Royce a total of 6,021, both marques achieved milestone numbers beyond all expectations. Pacific Asia in general and China in particular as locations were key to the expansion of sales of each and electric models were notable in their growth especially.

     

    Of his firm’s success, Adrian Hallmark, chairman and CEO of Bentley Motors remarked:

     

    “In what was another year of unpredictability, the business overcame significant headwinds and demonstrated great resilience to deliver the third consecutive record sales year. This underlines our brand strength, operational excellence and strong global demand by market and model.”

     

    “The reaction to the market introduction of our hybrid models, Flying Spur joining Bentayga last year, demonstrate the path the luxury sector is heading, and we are positioned firmly at the forefront. These numbers are validation that we not only lead the sector in sales and market share, but also investment in electric technologies and commitment to being net carbon neutral in 2030.”

     

    Of his firm’s success, Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars added:

     

    “2022 has been a momentous year for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Not only did we reveal Rolls‑Royce Spectre, our marque’s first ever fully-electric series model to the world, it was also the first year we ever delivered more than 6,000 cars in a single 12-month period, with strong demand across our entire product portfolio.”

     

    “But as a true ‘House of Luxury,’ sales are not our sole measure of success: we are not and never will be a volume manufacturer. Bespoke IS Rolls-Royce, and commissions were also at record levels last year, with our clients’ requests becoming ever more imaginative and technically demanding – a challenge we enthusiastically embrace. The unrivalled ‘Bespoke’ creativity and quality achieved by our team here in Goodwood means that on average, our clients are now happy to pay around half a million Euros for their unique motor car.”

     

    “As we mark the 20th anniversary of the ‘Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood,’ these results confirm Rolls‑Royce Motor Cars as a great British success story. Our business is built on extremely strong foundations, and we have secured advance orders stretching far into 2023. And while we are not immune to global challenges and economic headwinds, thanks to our balanced worldwide sales strategy, we are cautiously optimistic that 2023 will be a strong year for Rolls‑Royce.”

     

    The Bentley Motors range starts at a base recommended retail price of £233,235 ($283,082, €263,348 or درهم1.03 million) whilst the Rolls-Royce range begins at £162,500 ($197,197, €183,490 or درهم724,280).

     

    Editor’s Note – Unlike as is the case in many publications, this article was NOT sponsored or supported by a third-party.

     

    Bentley sales 2023
    Accompanying their 2022 sales announcement, Bentley Motors shared a regional breakdown of where the 15,174 vehicles they produced were sold. Whilst the largest number was in the Americas, their biggest growth was in Asia Pacific – where they increased sales by 23%.
    Rolls-Royce sales 2022
    Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited did not supply a similar breakdown of figures, but instead a series of bullet points illustrating the success of this BMW Group controlled entity.
    Spectre
    Torsten Müller-Ötvös with his firm’s forthcoming Spectre model. The car is being marketed as the marque’s first ever all-electric “super coupé.” First client deliveries will take place in the fourth quarter of 2023 and of it, the firm declare it to be “the marque’s first step towards building only fully-electric cars by the end of 2030” and that demand for Spectre has “exceeded the company’s most ambitious expectations.”
    Cullinan
    Of demand for their models, Rolls-Royce surmised: “In 2022 Cullinan (pictured) consolidated its position as the most in-demand Rolls-Royce, while Ghost was the marque’s best-selling model in the Asia-Pacific region. Black Badge, Rolls‑Royce’s more rebellious alter ego, has witnessed extraordinary growth.” The growth had knock on effects at the firm’s Goodwood, Sussex facility and during the year, 250 new jobs were created there – taking the firm’s total employees to 2,500, “representing over 50 nationalities.”
    Phantom Series III
    The Phantom Series III is the latest incarnation designed for “luxury limousine lovers.” For a time, the Phantom was the single model a firm that built just one vehicle per day produced, but now, this self-declared ‘House of Luxury’ has expanded both its range and markets.
    Bentayga
    Bentley’s base price model, the Bentayga, is some £71,000 cheap than the base price model Rolls-Royce. Of this “luxury SUV,” the firm declares: “It remains our number one selling model, selling more in its sixth year of sales than ever before, accounting for 42 per cent of total sales and establishing itself as the most successful luxury SUV in the world.”
    Flying Spur
    The Flying Spur accounted for 28% of the firm’s total sales in 2023. Of sales of this model, 30% were as hybrids and in the UK, 65% were hybrids.
    Continental GT convertible
    The Continental GTC convertible is the perfect vehicle for touring the South of France. It and the GT coupé accounted for nearly 30% of sales during 2022 and of it the firm declared: “They have consistent appeal.”
  • From Tech Titan To Property Baron – “Billionaire you’ve never heard of” 32-Year-Old Stripe Co-Founder John Collison Splashes Out £15.8m On Irish Properties

    From Tech Titan To Property Baron – “Billionaire you’ve never heard of” 32-Year-Old Stripe Co-Founder John Collison Splashes Out £15.8m On Irish Properties

    Billionaire co-owner of payment processing tech giant Stripe, 32-year-old Irishman John Collison, adds to his 1,200-acre £10.1 million Irish estate and plans to spend another £5.3 million restoring a £350,000 adjoining derelict mansion

    Harvard University educated John Collison born in August 1990, astoundingly has acquired himself an estimated worth of £9.6 billion according to the 2022 Bloomberg Billionaires Index in spite of only having only been in business since 2007.

     

    A co-founder with his brother Patrick of Stripe, an Irish-American payment processing application based in San Francisco and Dublin, this 32-year-old is now said to be the 187th richest person in the world. Having acquired such a fortune, this young man now has the ability to acquire the ‘toys’ and ‘treasures’ the very, very, very wealthy so often acquire and aside from recently bidding for Weston Airport near Dublin, he clearly intends to more than just dabble in real estate assets also.

     

    A pilot and a pianist who gained the backing of amongt others Elon Musk and Peter Thiel in 2010, here is a man who along with his brother became the world’s youngest self-made billionaires in 2016 and in June 2021, he splashed out on the 1,120-acre James Wyatt designed Abbeyleix estate in June 2021.

     

    Featured in The Steeple Times in June 2020 when offered for sale for £17.8 million, Collison paid the knockdown price of just £10.1 million to Sir David Davies, a Welsh born “superstar banker and businessman” noted for describing Theresa May as “inept” and Boris Johnson as “doesn’t do his homework, and can’t be trusted.”

     

    Late last month, the tech titan got himself another ‘bargain’ when he beat off competition from 170 other interested parties and snapped up the adjoining 9,004 square foot Millbrook House – which had formerly formed part of his Abbeyleix estate – for just £351,000 against an asking price of £132,000. The snag? He’s going to have to spend £5.3 million restoring the Victorian pile to its former glory.

     

    They say westerners have “first world problems,” but for this very, very, very, very wealthy tricenarian it seems these ‘trifling’ sums won’t represent any kind of “billionaire world problem” even.

     

    Pictured Top – Abbeyleix House (top left), Millnbrook House (bottom left) and John Collison.

     

    John and Patrick Collison
    Irish citizen John Collison, pictured (left) with his brother Patrick, is said to be worth the staggering sum of £9.6 billion ($11.4 billion, €11 billion or درهم41.7 billion) in spite of being just 32-years-old.
    Sir David Davies
    He purchased the 1,200-acre Abbeyleix estate from Sir David Davies (pictured in the drawing room of his now former home) in June 2021 for a sum £7.7 million lower than its asking price.

    The Names & Numbers – Millbrook House (also known as ‘Millbrook Hall’), Oldtown, Abbeyleix, Leinster, County Laois, Ireland

    Millbrook House
    Aerial 2
    Aerial 1
    Prior to dereliction

    October 2022 – Sold to John Collison through his Jersey based Comhlacht na Feirme company for circa £351,000 ($415,000, €400,000 or درهم1.5 million) after being put up for sale through Power Property for offers in excess of £132,000 ($156,000, €150,000 or درهم571,000) by Laois County Council. 170 people had registered interest in the property by a deadline set of August 2022 and Fianna Fáil councillor John Joe Fennelly eventually proposed the sale of the building to Comhlacht na Feirme Ltd.

     

    Accompanying his bid for the property and its 4.2-acre plot, Mr Collison announced that he planned to spend £5.3 million ($6.2 million, €6 million or درهم22.8 million) restoring Millbrook House and added:

     

    “We are already investing at the Abbeyleix Estate with a mindset of being stewards of this property for the coming generations. The Abbeyleix Estate is a keystone piece of Laois history and deserves careful guardianship.”

     

    “We would be delighted to extend this approach to Millbrook House and we hope our offer is of interest.”

     

    2021 – Bough by compulsory purchase by Laois County Council from the then owner John Patrick Colclough. Of this, The Irish Times later reported: “[The council had] intention to flip it on to a buyer with deep pockets who would save it from complete ruin.”

     

    1885 – Built as a residence for a steward on the de Vesci Estate. The Victorian building provides accommodation over 4 floors and extends to some 9,004 square foot and also includes a coach house, gardens and mill pond.

     

    The Names & Numbers – Abbeyleigh (also known as ‘Abbeyleix House,’ ‘Abbeyleix Castle’ and the ‘De Vesci Estate’), Abbeyleix, Leinster, County Laois, Ireland

    Abbeyleix
    Aerial AH
    Outbuildings

    June 2021 – Sold to John Collison for £10.1 million ($11.9 million, €11.5 million or درهم43.8 million), a sum 43% lower than the original asking price.

     

    June 2020 – For sale for £17.8 million ($21 million, €20.3 million or درهم77.2 million) through agents Sotheby’s International Realty on behalf of Sir David.

     

    At the time of the 26,910 square foot property, the Welsh born businessman commented: “I’m organising my whole estate for the benefit of my children… Although the children all love this place very much, none of them wanted to take it on… The typical refrain is ‘Dad, this is your project,’ and I’m lucky enough to have Killoughter House [another property he owns], the home of my childhood, to return to.”

     

    1995 – Sold to Sir David Davies by the de Vesci family – who had owned the estate for circa 250 years.

     

    Editor’s Note – Unlike as is the case in many publications, this article was NOT sponsored or supported by a third-party.