Tony Bramall is an unlikely ‘tech bro’, not least because he is nearly 90. Having made his fortune not once but twice in a career spanning seven decades, the car dealer could be forgiven if he drove off into the sunset.
In theory at least, he is retired, but the energetic octogenarian remains a serial investor who shows no signs of taking his foot off the accelerator. Quite the opposite.
He may be decades older than the typical geeky, hoodie-wearing tech entrepreneur, but in his latest venture, Bramall is the main backer of a digital venture that he hopes will revolutionise car ownership.
Launched last year, Drive Fuze offers an all-inclusive online car subscription service, which he says is better value and more flexible than buying a motor or entering a personal contract hire deal.
On past form, it may well add millions more to the no-nonsense Yorkshireman’s already large fortune. Bramall, 88, is a role model par excellence for so-called silver entrepreneurs who aspire to business success in later life.
No-nonsense Yorkshireman: Tony Bramall
‘Most people in their 60s and 70s still have a lot of expertise to give,’ Bramall says. He made £80million two years ago from his stake in car dealership Lookers. Proof it’s never too late to make – or increase – your fortune.
His is not a story of get rich quick, however. It has taken decades of hard work, and he is still at the grindstone now.
‘I was brought up by a father who instilled a very strong work ethic in me from a very young age,’ he recalls. ‘I can’t overstate the impact that had on my attitude.
‘You have to have a reason to get up in the morning, and a routine once the day has begun.’
Francesca, his wife of 30 years, wakes him at 6am and he’s usually at his desk by 8.30am. ‘I go to work every day. Well, I go to an office, put it that way. Whether it’s work or not is for others to judge,’ he quips.
Having qualified as an accountant, he worked in his family car dealership business in the 1960s. He set about expanding it, buying smaller rivals and floating the renamed CD Bramall on the stock market in 1978. It was sold to international car rental business Avis a decade later for £94million.
Bramall, then a stripling of 52, was only just getting started.
He used some of the proceeds to buy a Bradford textile company. He then turned it into a highly profitable car dealership and revived the CD Bramall name.
He brought CD Bramall mark two to the stock market before it was bought by larger rival Pendragon for £230million in 2004.
Building two listed companies and cashing in on both would be more than enough for most entrepreneurs. But Bramall, now aged 68, was far from finished.
He emerged in 2006 as ‘white knight’ for another dealership, Lookers, which was facing a hostile takeover bid from Pendragon. Bramall built a large stake, and thwarted the deal. He stayed on Lookers’ board until 2020, before cashing out in 2022 to Constellation Automotive, the owner of online platforms WeBuyAnyCar and Cinch.
Today he is estimated to be worth well over £200million, much of it made after he hit retirement age.
And he’s not done yet.
His latest project, Drive Fuze, aims to cater to those households who need their own car, but aren’t ready to commit to a certain model long-term. He gives the example of a couple who want to try an electric car before buying one.
Or a young family, who might need to upsize to a bigger vehicle if more children come along. Personal contract purchase (PCP) finance accounts for more than 80 per cent of new private car financing deals, but drivers are locked in for up to four years.
Bramall is convinced customers – especially millennials – will be won over by the subscription service, saying: ‘People my age like to pick up a car, drive it and own it, but there’s a trend towards using a car rather than owning it, especially among younger people.’
There are no hidden extras with a subscription – the vehicle is even delivered to your door and collected for good measure.
The subscription market is in its infancy, but is expected to grow fast. The important thing Bramall has learned over the years is not to be blinded by pound signs.
‘There’s big market out there, we only want a small share of it,’ Bramall says. ‘You have to humble. Over-investing in your idea is the easiest thing to do. You should scale as you grow instead.’
The technology behind a car subscription service may be new to him, but few can match Bramall’s knowledge and experience of the motor trade. He has used his contacts to build a strong management team at Drive Fuze, where he insists he is ‘a passive investor’.
‘Back people, not just businesses,’ he advises. ‘As an investor you need to understand people’s character and motivations, not just their vision and ambition.’
He’s made sure the top team at his latest venture have what he calls ‘skin in the game’.
‘Success is more likely when the people running the business have just as much to win as lose,’ he says. Drive Fuze is headed by Nick Rothwell, who used to run Ford’s car finance operations in Europe.
Rothwell recently sold a similar car subscription business in Spain for £90million to Renault’s financial services arm.
Also on the board is his long-time business partner Peter Jones, a ex-chief executive of Lookers. The closest Bramall came to retiring was when he met Jones at a motor show in 1995 and asked him if he wanted to run his firm.
‘I’m 60 next year and I’m not going to die with my boots on,’ Bramall told him.
In the fast lane: Tony Bramall is excited about Drive Fuze’s prospects
Loyalty and trust clearly matter to him. His number one business lesson is: ‘Keep your word, it will pay big dividends.’
His favourite film is The Godfather – the story of an ageing patriarch who hands his clandestine empire to a reluctant son.
Where though, does he get his energy from?
‘You’ve got to enjoy what you’re doing otherwise there’s no point – that’s where the energy and enthusiasm comes from,’ he says.
‘I look forward to every day.’
He lists his skills as ‘fast growth, finance, management and negotiation’. Bramall, a lifelong and ‘avid Sheffield United fan, still chairs a family-owned property and investment firm based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, where his two daughters are also directors.
He also oversees a charitable foundation that has supported a number of good causes over the past three decades.
Supporting his eight grandchildren, aged between six and 32, is also ‘a big focus’ for him.
Bramall is clearly excited about Drive Fuze’s prospects, seeing huge potential from licensing its proprietary technology to third parties. The company, he says, may grow slowly, as most start-ups do. ‘But I’m convinced I’ve made a decision I won’t regret,’ he says. ‘Time will tell.’
With his track record, few would bet against him making a few more million before he turns 90.