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 

Motor Car Specialist

Court’s background is in car sales, a skill he honed managing a dealership in Devon. He moved back to his native Warrington in early 2023 and has transferred his talents to Hampson’s, where his previous career is already proving to have given him a strong foundation as he liaises with Hampson clients about their vehicles.

While Court doesn’t at present have a classic or performance car of his own, he is passionate about 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.

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!

Nicole Taylor 

Operations Manager

Nicole is the lady who utilises her exceptional organisational skills to keep everything running smoothly at Hampson Auctions, both in our offices and at our sales. She moved with her family to the UK from her native Australia some 15 years ago and, while the Aussie accent is still discernible, she very much views the UK as ‘home’. Her professional background, prior to joining Hampson’s in late summer 2023, was as an accounts administrator/ bookkeeper, mostly in the motoring industry in the UK and Australia.

Although her initial role with us was as a bookkeeper, it soon became evident that her eye for detail and organisational abilities could be put to a wider use here, and she fast became Managing Director Zach Hamilton’s ‘right hand woman’, and an intrinsic part of the team. Extra brownie points come from the fact that her first car, at age 18, was a British racing green Ford Capri, a machine she still remembers with great fondness. And, as a young woman, she coveted the 1939 MG TC owned by a work colleague – so she’s definitely found her niche with Hampson’s.

Karen Coe

PR/Communications Manager

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.