With its recent Shariah compliance certification, The CarCrowd UK has attracted increased interest from investors in the Middle East, further bolstering the firm’s plan to enter the market through local partnerships.
“Our business has always operated ethically, being debt-free, self-funded and community-centric. Our next goal is to attract new investors to fund classic cars,” CEO and Co-Founder David Spickett told IFN Investor.
The company has set a goal to have 1,000 cars under management by 2027 in 14 countries. It aims to develop products that cater to the investment needs of medium- to high-value investors, without significant budget constraints.
“Our ambition is to become the global owner of classic cars with distribution across many markets. We aim to do this through local partners who have already established themselves as a prime investment firm in key markets.”
David said CarCrowd will have three categories of funds. The first will focus on modern classic cars, the second on motorsport classics and the third on traditional classics like the Jaguar E-types and Ferrari Dinos.
To cater for different budgets, the firm will have two entry points, the lowest being GBP5,000 (US$6,350.05) for retail investors, where each car is treated as a separate limited company.
This retail fund fractionalizes ownership in specific classic cars monthly and is offered through CarCrowd’s platform, Plus, that is live in Ireland, France and soon to launch in the US.
For aficionados, there will be a high-end close fund with a minimum investment of GBP125,000 (US$158,785) that will be launched at the end of this year and CarCrowd will be the fund manager for these collectible cars priced GBP10–15 million (US$12.7–19.05 million).
At present, CarCrowd aims to keep its physical assets of the cars within its UK garage, but high-end investors have the option of having these vehicles transported to the location of their choice. CarCrowd sources its cars from collectors, preferably in mint condition. It rarely does any major refurbishment of these vehicles to maintain their pristine original condition.
