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A car-obsessed dentist who has amassed Britain ’s biggest private car collection is selling the whole lot for £100 million.

James Hull, 53, who founded the James Hull Associates chain of dentists, owns more than 450 rare and classic cars, ranging from multi-million pound rare Jaguars to Winston Churchill’s Austin, and a Bentley once owned by Elton John.

With no room to park them all near his home in Kensington, west London , he garages them in vast warehouses in Herefordshire, but has now decided to sell
up because of health reasons.

All yours… if you’ve got deep pockets: Dr Hull’s 457-strong car collection is currently kept in warehouses in Here ford shire

Planes (no trains) and automobiles: Dr Hull has collected Bentleys, Rolls Royces and Jaguars, as well as some aircraft from the First and Second World Wars

None of the cars is cheap, but a buyer with particularly deep pockets is needed, because Dr Hull says he is determined to sell the 457-strong collection as a whole.

He is hoping a buyer will come in with a £100 million-plus offer, making it the highest value car sale in Britain …

With cars represented from every decade since the 1930s, the collection includes a Jaguar D-Type, worth in excess of £4 million, a similarly valuable Jaguar C-Type, and Lord Mountbatten’s Mini Traveller, as well as a super-rare 1950s Jaguar KXSS.

The collection also includes a Humber which was owned by the judge presiding over the Profumo Affair and a 1961 Jaguar E-Type which belonged to Britain ’s world motorcycle champion Mike Hailwood.

Dr Hull, who made his fortune pioneering cosmetic dentistry in the UK , has battled cancer three times in the past four years, earning him the nickname Lazarus to friends. He travelled around the world to track down some of the rarer models in his collection, shipping them back to Britain and then having them stripped down before rebuilding them.

Dr Hull’s collection includes this classic Triumph TR5, left, built in Coventry in the late 1960s, and this classic racing car, right, driven in this picture by Stirling Moss

This classic Bentley is among Dr Hull’s collection – he travelled the world finding rare cars before shipping them back to Britain and having them restored

As well as full-size cars, the collection includes more than 300 miniature pedal cars, seen at the back

Mint condition: This shining red Mini Traveller was once owned by Lord Mountbatten, and is now for sale as part of a job lot going for at least £100 milion

He said: ‘It’s the culmination of a life-long hobby. Each car has its own story and all have played a part in the history of British motoring. It’s part of our heritage.

‘I’m merely a passionate custodian of this hugely significant part of British history and, with luck, I will succeed in finding a home that can not only be enjoyed and treasured by the British public but also be admired by visitors from across the world.’

A number of Dr Hull’s cars have appeared at motor shows around the world, competed in the Mille MigliaItalian road-race, and even been used for the Queen’s 80th birthday parade.

There are also dozens of cars which have won concours awards, and a collection of British campervans from the 1940s, 50s and 60s, as well as early Land Rovers, classic Range Rovers, and a Sinclair C5 from the 1980s.

The collection, which is being sold privately, has already had a ‘huge amount of interest’ from private buyers and consortia, from overseas as well as nearer to home, but Dr Hull hopes it will remain in Britain .

Graham Searle, from the Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club, said: ‘Dr Hull is a well known Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club member with an immense passion for Jaguar cars.

Dr Hull made his fortune by pioneering cosmetic dentistry in Britain with his James Hull Associates chain – he then spent it on these classic motor cars

Stamp-collecting next? Once he has sold his cars, including this classic Jaguar XK, Dr Hull says he will need a new hobby, but he hasn’t picked one yet

‘Most of his cars are very original or restored to original specification with great attention to detail, and over the years he must have won more concours awards than any other Jaguar collector.

‘He does immense service to the classic car movement in keeping these cars in top condition, and the sale of the collection will attract enormous interest from around the world.
‘We of course hope that whoever buys them allows them to be seen and enjoyed by enthusiasts for years to come.’

James Hull made his money after founding James Hull Associates in 1987, becoming the market leader in cosmetic dentistry, specialising in teeth whitening, veneers and implants.

He was devastated in 2006 when vandals broke into one of his warehouses, before hot wiring the Jaguars and crashing dozens of them. Police later said they had ‘treated the cars like dodgems’.

Over the past decade, prices for classic cars have shot up, outperforming every other investment and sending the value of the collection soaring.

If he finds a suitable buyer, Dr Hull will need a new hobby, but he’s not yet sure what it will be.
He said: ‘I’m a collector, so who knows what will turn up next. My wife hopes it will be something smaller like stamps.’