Zach Hamilton
Managing Director
Having grown up in and around the motoring world, it’s certainly no exaggeration to say that classic and performance cars are very much in Zach’s blood. Zach’s father and uncle – Mark and Geoffrey Hamilton – founded Hampson Motor Sales in 1987, and Zach spent much of his childhood utilising what was at the time Europe’s largest classic car and investment showroom as what was also probably Europe’s greatest playground! Mark went on to co-found the auction house H&H Classics in 1993, and Zach accompanied him on as many valuation visits and auction days as possible.
Following his father’s retirement from H&H, Zach went on to form a successful recruitment business, but having been irreversibly bitten by the auction bug, he always dreamt of becoming involved in the classic car industry once again. Following the birth of his son Ayrton, Zach felt the time was right to reinstate the family legacy of the Hampson name within the auction world. Determined to preserve his father’s ethos of an honest, no-nonsense, customer-focused approach to business, he created Hampson Auctions. Several years on, it’s fair to say that things have come full circle, as young Ayrton is now an enthusiastic visitor to all of Hampson’s auctions and car show appearances, just as Zach was at the same age – watch this space!
Zach is heavily involved in all aspects of the business, but he particularly enjoys visiting clients and consigning all sorts of fantastic classic, modern classic and performance vehicles for our auctions.
James Hamilton
Motor Car Specialist
Much like Zach, James was introduced to the classic car world at a very young age. His father John was also involved in the original Hampson Motor Sales company, and he grew up surrounded by and with a great appreciation for all things automotive. James is a talented mechanic in his own right and, alongside his fiancée, owns and runs a working farm. His own car collection includes a classic mini, an MGB GT, and a very low mileage BMW M3 – and we strongly suspect that won’t be the end of it!
James’ role as a Motor Car Specialist means he is frequently out on the road visiting clients and valuing their vehicles. He is also heavily involved in the set-up and presentation of all our auctions, and on sale days he can usually be found carrying out condition reports or helping to calm the nerves of our telephone bidders.
Duncan Brown
Auctioneer
Anyone who has watched one of our auctions online or in the saleroom will immediately recognise our fantastic auctioneer Duncan. Growing up with a car enthusiast father, it’s no surprise that Duncan quickly developed a passion for all thing motoring related. Duncan brings with him 25 years of auction experience, having worked his way up to manager and auctioneer at his local car auction room, before taking the leap and becoming self employed as a freelance auctioneer.
Duncan has conducted classic car sales at many prestigious venues in the UK and abroad, including The Amelia Island Concours d’Elégance, The Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Circuit of the Americas, and has also appeared on television. We always receive very positive feedback about Duncan’s approach to auctioneering – clear and professional, but always entertaining and enthusiastic, he works hard to achieve the very best prices for the vehicles going under the hammer at our sales.
Court Francis
Senior Motor Car Specialist
Court joined Hampson’s as a Motor Car Specialist in 2023 and has worked his way up to his now senior position. He began his career in the motor trade when he joined an independent dealership in Devon – where he sold a car on his first day! He progressed to becoming manager of that dealership, before moving back to his native Warrington. Here he transferred his talents to Hampson’s, where his strong industry foundation and customer relationship-building skills proved a distinct advantage.
Court is passionate about performance cars and supercars. He has a particular fondness for Lamborghinis, and his goal is to one day be the proud owner of one of the magnificent supercars produced by the Sant’Agata Bolognese factory.
Jonny France
Motor Car Specialist
Jonny is a newcomer to Hampson’s, having only joined in January 2025. However, the sports car and supercar enthusiast brings with him a wealth of experience honed over some 14 years in the motor trade. He spent several years working with main dealers, independents and also for himself, before moving into motor trade recruitment, where for a decade he was the operations manager for one of the country’s leading motor trade recruitment agencies.
A move to Winsford at the end of 2024 gave this Manchester-born individual the chance to switch careers, so he decided to apply the customer relationship and negotiation skills acquired during his previous career to the world of classic, performance and supercars. And his dream car? A McLaren F1 – “It’s just an absolute beast of a car, whose design still stands up today.”
Nathan Jones
Auction Coordinator
Nathan is the person who regular attendees at Hampson sales will have seen on the ground on sale day, making sure everything runs smoothly at Bolesworth Castle or the Oulton Park Gold Cup. Alongside his role with Hampson’s, he has for 20 years operated his own classic car business, offering everything from sales and storage to transportation, giving him an excellent understanding of the requirements of our clients and their vehicles.
He describes the inhabitants of his own garage as ‘a mixed bag’ which includes a 1930s Austin Seven, a 1948 Lea-Francis and two 1970s Japanese cars, including a very early Colt which he has owned since he was 17 years old. He is also a great admirer of DB4 and DB5 Aston Martins, though has yet to add any to his collection!
James Ritchie
Motor Car Specialist
James brings to Hampson Auctions the experience gleaned over a career which includes stints with historic motorsport preparation companies – where he was able to put his university degree in motorsports to good use – and modern car sales with Volkswagen. One of the things he most enjoys is spending time talking to vendors about their cars and then being able to talk to potential buyers about those vehicles. Forming good relationships with clients is very important to him.
As for hobbies, James is a keen traveller, who spent several months travelling in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Japan. Even then he couldn’t leave his love for all things motoring behind him – his adventures including driving a Gen 1 NSX around a Japanese mountain and riding a motorbike across Vietnam, the latter in tribute to a certain Top Gear episode. And his dream car? A Pagani Zonda!
Karen Coe
PR/Communications Manager
Since turning freelance, Karen has worked with a wide range of companies and events, including RAC Auto Services, Europe Assistance, Volkswagen Financial Services, Manheim, Flywheel at Bicester Heritage and Peugeot. She has been heavily involved from day one with the Donington Historic Festival and the Royal Automobile Club Historic Awards, both of which she is still works on today, and she handles social media and web content for the RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. She also has a logistics role with the Concours on Savile Row.
In memoriam: Gordon Bruce
At the end of 2023, the Hampson team was stunned when Gordon Bruce – who had played an integral role in the company since Zach Hamilton brought the family business back into being in 2020 – passed away. No ‘Meet the Team’ section can be complete without Gordon, even now. He was the ‘voice’ that could be heard in all our catalogue descriptions, and he shared with Zach the wisdom and experience gained through nearly a half century in working with some of the biggest names in the motoring world. He was a mentor and he was a friend. Gordon made significant contributions to all our auctions and he will be sadly missed.
A true gentleman to everyone who knew him, he was a keen racer – the first person in the world to win a race in a Mk2 Escort – and also campaigned an AC Cobra to overall victory in the 1983 Intermarque Championship. He was also an associate member of the BRDC, following a long and distinguished career in motor sport and public relations.
He was a qualified mechanical engineer, whose industrial training included researching and testing carbonfibre for the Concorde project (during which time he helped make the world’s first carbonfibre golf club) and working in the production engineering department of Lotus Cars (where, amongst other things, he designed the base for Colin Chapman’s boardroom table). In 1971, he joined the technical staff of Motor magazine and was soon appointed Road Test Editor, with responsibility for all road and track tests. He then moved on to become a PR manager at Ford.
Gordon’s day job for the last 41 years was overseeing his automotive PR consultancy, Gordon Bruce Associates. Over the decades, he came to know a vast number of luminaries, including James Hunt, Tiff Needell and Sir Stirling Moss. Having provided marketing services to Christie’s, Brooks, Bonhams, and H&H, and to a host of motor manufacturers and other household names in the automotive world, Gordon’s claim to have petrol rather than blood running through his veins was arguably borne out by the number of cars he owned over the years, which amounted to 149! He was also a keen motorcyclist.
