British Car Auctions
BCA Marketplace, formerly British Car Auctions, is a used vehicle marketplace. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by TDR Capital in November 2019. History In 1946 Royal Navy officer David Wickins decided to sell his Riley Lynx tourer. Placing an advert in the local newspaper, he offered to sell the car to the first person who turned up at his mother's house in Farnham, Surrey with £200. Arriving home late, he found a crowd of eager buyers, and so auctioned the car off for £420. Wickins then rented a farmer's field at Frimley Bridges, now under junction 4 of the M3 motorway on the A331 by Hawley Road in Frimley, Surrey, and set up his first public auction. The 14 cars sold for a total of £8,250. Wickins and one of his brothers immediately founded Southern Counties Car Auctions, which, when he left the Royal Navy soon after, he expanded across the UK by selling surplus ex-British Army and Royal Air Force vehicles for the Ministry of Defence. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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David Wickins
David Allen Wickins (15 February 1920 – 28 January 2007) was an English accountant-turned-entrepreneur, best known for founding the vehicle remarketing business British Car Auctions, and saving Lotus Cars. Early life David Allen Wickins was born in Tilehurst, near Reading, Berkshire on 15 February 1920. The seventh child of an architect-turned- builder who was 64 when David was born, his father was one of the first civilian casualties killed in London at the start of the Luftwaffe air raids during the Second World War. His mother was a successful antiques dealer, enabling him to be educated at St George's College, Weybridge, by Josephites. Wickins described his schooling as ''"very academic, very hard"'', though an aptitude for figures allowed him to run a betting book for fellow pupils. Early career On leaving school he was recommended to apply to take articles with accountants Deloitte & Co in London. On gaining his chartered membership, he volunteered to be posted t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Conglomerate (company)
A conglomerate () is a multi-industry company – i.e., a combination of multiple business entities operating in entirely different industries under one corporate group, usually involving a parent company and many subsidiaries. Conglomerates are often large and multinational. United States The conglomerate fad of the 1960s During the 1960s, the United States was caught up in a "conglomerate fad" which turned out to be a form of speculative mania. Due to a combination of low interest rates and a repeating bear-bull market, conglomerates were able to buy smaller companies in leveraged buyouts (sometimes at temporarily deflated values). Famous examples from the 1960s include Ling-Temco-Vought,. ITT Corporation, Litton Industries, Textron, and Teledyne. The trick was to look for acquisition targets with solid earnings and much lower price–earnings ratios than the acquirer. The conglomerate would make a tender offer to the target's shareholders at a princely premium to the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Reverse Takeover
A reverse takeover (RTO), reverse merger, or reverse IPO is the acquisition of a public company by a private company so that the private company can bypass the lengthy and complex process of going public. Sometimes, conversely, the public company is bought by the private company through an asset swap and share issue. The transaction typically requires reorganization of capitalization of the acquiring company. Process In a reverse takeover, shareholders of the private company purchase control of the public shell company/ SPAC and then merge it with the private company. The publicly traded corporation is called a "shell" since all that exists of the original company is its organizational structure. The private company shareholders receive a substantial majority of the shares of the public company and control of its board of directors. The transaction can be accomplished within weeks. The transaction involves the private and shell company exchanging information on each other, neg ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lotus Cars
Lotus Cars Limited is a British automotive company headquartered in Norfolk, England which manufactures sports cars and racing cars noted for their light weight and fine handling characteristics. Lotus was previously involved in Formula One racing, via Team Lotus, winning the Formula One World Championship seven times. Lotus Cars was founded and owned for many years by Colin Chapman. After his death and a period of financial instability, it was bought by General Motors, then Romano Artioli and DRB-HICOM through its subsidiary Proton. It is currently majority owned by Chinese multinational Geely, with Etika Automotive as a minority shareholder. The engineering consultancy firm Lotus Engineering, an offshoot of Lotus Cars, has facilities in the United Kingdom, United States, China, and Malaysia. Notable Lotus cars include the Lotus Seven, the Lotus Esprit and the Lotus Elan. History Early years The company was formed in 1952 as Lotus Engineering Ltd. by engineers Colin Ch ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Motor Racing
Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two-wheeled motorised vehicles under the banner of motorcycle racing, and includes off-road racing such as motocross. Four- (or more) wheeled motorsport competition is globally governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA); and the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) governs two-wheeled competition. Likewise, the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) governs powerboat racing while the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) governs air sports, including aeroplane racing. All vehicles that participate in motorsports must adhere to the regulations that are set out by the respective global governing body. History In 1894, a French newspaper organised a race from Paris to Rouen and back, starting ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mark Thatcher
Sir Mark Thatcher, 2nd Baronet (born 15 August 1953) is an English businessman. He is the son of Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, and Sir Denis Thatcher; his sister is Carol Thatcher. His early career in business led to suggestions that he was benefiting from his mother's position, notably in relation to the Al-Yamamah arms deal. He left the UK in 1986, and has since lived in the United States, Switzerland, Monaco, South Africa, Gibraltar, Barbados, Guernsey, and Spain. In 2004 the ''Sunday Times'' estimated his wealth at £60 million, most of which was suggested to be in offshore accounts. In 2005, he was convicted and given a four-year suspended prison sentence and fined in South Africa for funding the 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt. He has two children by his first wife, Diane Burgdorf. He married his second wife, Sarah-Jane Russell (''née'' Clemence), in 2008. After his father's death in 2003, he became Sir Mark Thatc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Denis Thatcher
Sir Denis Thatcher, 1st Baronet, (10 May 1915 – 26 June 2003) was an English businessman and the husband of Margaret Thatcher, who served as the first female British prime minister from 1979 to 1990; in turn, he became the first male prime ministerial spouse. Thatcher was granted the Thatcher baronetcy in 1990, the only baronetcy created since 1964, and remains the most recent commoner to have been awarded a hereditary title. Early life Denis Thatcher was born on 10 May 1915 at 26 Southbrook Road, Lee, Lewisham, London, as the first child of New Zealand-born British businessman Thomas Herbert "Jack" Thatcher (15 October 1885 – 24 June 1943) and Lilian Kathleen Bird At age eight, Denis entered a preparatory school as a boarder in Bognor Regis, following which he attended the nonconformist public school Mill Hill School in north London. At school he excelled at cricket, being a left-handed batsman. Thatcher left Mill Hill School in 1933 and joined the family paint an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and also known colloquially as the Tories, is one of the Two-party system, two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. It is the current Government of the United Kingdom, governing party, having won the 2019 United Kingdom general election, 2019 general election. It has been the primary governing party in Britain since 2010. The party is on the Centre-right politics, centre-right of the political spectrum, and encompasses various ideological #Party factions, factions including One-nation conservatism, one-nation conservatives, Thatcherism, Thatcherites, and traditionalist conservatism, traditionalist conservatives. The party currently has 356 Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Members of Parliament, 264 members of the House of Lords, 9 members of the London Assembly, 31 members of the Scottish Parliament, 16 members of the Senedd, Welsh Parliament, 2 D ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Scratch Golfer
The following is a glossary of the terminology currently used in the sport of golf. Where words in a sentence are also defined elsewhere in this article, they appear in italics. Old names for clubs can be found at Obsolete golf clubs. 0–9 ; : The clubhouse bar. A B ; Back nine: The last nine holes of an 18-hole golf course. Playing the back nine is called "heading in". ; Backspin: A backwards spin that occurs when a player strikes the golf-ball. The spin causes the ball to stop quickly or spin backwards after landing on the green. ; Back-swing: The first part of the golf-swing. The back-swing starts with the club-head immediately behind the ball and ends when the club-head travels back behind the player's head. The term ''take-away'' refers to the first part of the back-swing. ; Ball: A small sphere used in playing golf, which is intended to be struck by a player swinging a club. Balls are usually white, covered in dimples, and mad ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Yateley
Yateley () is a town and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire. It lies in the north-eastern corner of Hart District Council area. It includes the settlements of Frogmore and Darby Green to the east. It had a population of 21,011 at the 2001 census. The four wards that comprise Yateley and their 2001 populations are Yateley East (5,168), Yateley North (5,078), Yateley West (5,149), and Frogmore & Darby Green (5,616). The 2009 projection was 20,214, according to the Hart District Council website. Yateley Town Council is one of the few local councils to have been recognised under the national 'Quality Council' award scheme. In 2011 Hart district was named the UK's most desirable place to live, and Yateley was mentioned on a BBC News article as one of the towns within the district. History The name ''Yateley'' derives from the Middle English 'Yate' meaning 'Gate' (into Windsor Forest) and 'Lea' which was a 'forest clearing'. Although in historic records, variations of t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Blackbushe Airport
Blackbushe Airport is an operational general aviation airport in the civil parish of Yateley in the north-east corner of the English county of Hampshire. Built during the Second World War, Blackbushe is north of the A30 road between Camberley and Hook. For a time, it straddled this road with traffic having to wait whilst airliners were towed across. The south side was used for aircraft maintenance, using wartime-built hangars. Today, only the part of the airfield that lay north of the A30 remains in active use. The historical name for the flat piece of land on which it is sited is Hartford Bridge Flats. The nearest towns are Yateley and Fleet. Blackbushe Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P693) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Blackbushe Airport Limited). The aerodrome is licensed for night use. One of several airfields eclipsed since 1958 by the growth of Heathrow and Gatwick airport ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. History Origins The first issue, published on 4 December 1791 by W.S. Bourne, was the world's first Sunday newspaper. Believing that the paper would be a means of wealth, Bourne instead soon found himself facing debts of nearly £1,600. Though early editions purported editorial independence, Bourne attempted to cut his losses and sell the title to the government. When this failed, Bourne's brother (a wealthy businessman) made an offer to the government, which also refused to buy the paper but agreed to subsidise it in return for influence over its editorial content. As a result, the paper soon took a strong line against radicals such as Thomas Paine, Francis Burdett and Joseph Priestley. 19th century In 180 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |