Duke of London

What Duke of London does

Duke of London is a privately held, family-run classic and supercar hub operated under the legal entity Esmeralda's of Brentford Limited and founded by Merlin McCormack in 2014. The business is headquartered at The Brentford Riviera, a purpose-built hybrid space in West London that combines classic car showrooms, secure vehicle storage, creative workspaces, events venues, and hospitality (Plonkers Bar) within a single multi-purpose campus. Core offerings include the sale of personally sourced and independently inspected classic, modern-classic, and exotic supercars (with individual vehicle prices ranging from approximately £70K to £385K), subscription-based secure vehicle storage, flexible creative workspace rentals (units from 110 sq ft to 1,000 sq ft at £400-£2,600 per calendar month plus VAT), and venue hire for corporate events, private hire, filming, and brand activations.

The company operates five sub-brands—Duke's Quality Motors, Duke's Storage, Plonkers Bar, Classics & Cakes (events), Duke's Locations (filming and venue hire), and Creative Workspaces—and drives community engagement through a recurring events program including monthly car meets, vinyl listening sessions, DJ-led events, supper clubs, and live music. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, with customers engaging via website enquiry forms, phone, and appointment-based showroom visits. The business serves three primary customer segments: classic and supercar enthusiasts and collectors, independent businesses and creatives seeking workspace, and event and production companies seeking distinctive venues. With 7 employees and a single UK location, the company is small and operationally concentrated, and it has no disclosed external funding, parent company, or institutional investors.

Name

Duke of London

Legal name

Esmeralda's of Brentford Limited

Website

https://dukeoflondon.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Duke of London is a family-run classic and supercar hub in Brentford, West London, selling personally sourced classic and exotic vehicles, offering secure vehicle storage, creative workspace rentals, and event venue hire under multiple sub-brands. It serves car enthusiasts, independent creatives, and event/production clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brentford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Classic and Supercar Sales: Sale of curated classic cars, modern-classics, and exotic supercars. Every car is personally sourced and independently inspected. Revenue from vehicle transactions at varying price points from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of pounds.
2. Secure Vehicle Storage: Secure, monitored, and professionally managed storage for vehicles of every kind. Monthly storage fees from storage clients.
3. Creative Workspace Rental: Flexible studio and office space rentals for independent businesses and creatives. Units range from 100 to 3,000 sq ft available on flexible terms at below-market rates. Pricing from £400 to £2,600 per calendar month plus VAT.
4. Events and Venue Hire: Versatile events space for corporate and private hire, shoots, filming, activations, launches and DJ-led parties. Revenue from venue bookings and events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Duke of London is a family-run classic and supercar dealer that buys, sells, and sources vehicles from a physical showroom at The Brentford Riviera in Brentford, West London. Beyond vehicle sales, it offers secure vehicle storage bays, creative workspace units to rent, and venue/filming hire for events, operating as a multi-purpose community hub for car owners, creators, and event clients.

Product overview

Duke of London is a family-run classic and supercar hub operating as a multi-purpose venue. The core offering comprises classic and supercar sales (with personally sourced, independently inspected vehicles) and secure vehicle storage services. The business operates as a hybrid venue combining car sales with event spaces, food & beverage (Plonkers Bar), and creative workspaces. Related sub-brands include Duke's Locations for filming and venue hire, The Brentford Riviera as the main campus, and regular events programming including Classics & Cake car meets, vinyl listening sessions, DJ events, and live music.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Duke's Quality Motors: Classic car dealership component of Duke of London.
• Duke's Storage
• Plonker's Bar
• Classics & Cakes
• Duke's Locations
• The Brentford Workshop
• Creative Workspaces

Products and services

• Classic & Supercar Sales Buying, selling, and personal sourcing of classic and supercars from the Duke of London showroom at The Brentford Riviera, targeting individual collectors and enthusiasts in the UK.
• Secure Vehicle Storage Recurring secure storage bays for classic and supercar owners at the Brentford hub, offering monitored parking for high-value vehicles.
• Creative Workspaces Rental office and studio workspace units within the Duke of London hub, aimed at small businesses, freelancers, and creative professionals seeking flexible space in West London.
• Duke's Locations (Filming & Venue Hire) Filming and event venue hire of the Duke of London site at The Brentford Riviera for production companies, brands, and event organisers, with Plonkers Bar supporting on-site hospitality.
• Plonkers Bar On-site wine bar at the Duke of London hub serving the resident community of car owners, workspace tenants, and venue/event clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• Every car is personally sourced and independently inspected
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Joe Macari Performance Cars: London-based specialist dealer focused on exotic and classic cars plus in-house servicing and restoration. Closely mirrors Duke of London's personally-sourced, inspected-retail model and operates a similar multi-revenue campus.
• Hexagon Classics: London classic car dealer with showroom, workshop and restoration facilities. Closely aligned to Duke of London's classic-car focus and personal-sourcing model, though without the events/workspace component.
• The Hairpin Company: UK classic and competition car specialist with showroom in Lincolnshire. Comparable curated classic/supercar retail model serving enthusiast collectors, though without Duke's venue and workspace ecosystem.
• Tom Hartley: Long-established UK exotic and supercar dealer specialising in high-end marques such as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Bugatti. Directly comparable to Duke of London on classic/supercar retail, though Tom Hartley operates at higher inventory volumes and price points.
• Romans International: Surrey-based exotic and supercar specialist dealing in high-end performance vehicles. Directly comparable inventory mix and buyer profile, though operating without Duke's workspace/events diversification.
• Graeme Hunt Ltd: Long-established UK classic and collector car dealer specialising in post-war and pre-war vehicles. Comparable personally-sourced curated inventory model targeting enthusiast buyers.
• H.R. Owen: UK luxury and exotic car retailer with multiple showrooms and service centres. Sells new and pre-owned premium marques including Bentley, Ferrari and Lamborghini, competing for the same high-net-worth buyer segment Duke of London serves.

Emerging players

• Collecting Cars: Digital auction and marketplace platform for enthusiast and collector cars. Represents the online-disruption vector Duke of London faces — global buyer reach that physical showrooms must compete with on discovery and convenience.

Broad incumbents

• Bonhams (Motors Cars): Global auction house running major classic car sales that set market price benchmarks and capture collector demand. An adjacent incumbent that competes for the same buyer pool Duke serves, but via auction rather than fixed-price retail.
• RM Sotheby's: World-leading classic car auction house. Comparable in serving the same high-net-worth collector segment, but operating at auction scale across multiple global venues rather than from a single retail showroom.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/duke_of_london
• Facebookfacebook.com/dukeoflondon1
• Instagraminstagram.com/duke_of_london
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/duke-of-london

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Duke of London