Joe Hemsley is a second hand car dealer who is part of the new generation in the industry, completely moving away from the old stereotypes and making it a high end pursuit. He left school at 16 and is about to take his business to a £50m turnover with profits of over £2.5m.
The UK new car market is shrinking. Registrations fell for the sixth year running in 2025, according to Car Dealer. The rising popularity of used cars is one of the reasons (circular economy!), and the complete shift in how the second hand car dealer is perceived, compared to the older stereotypes. With younger audiences who shop very differently to previous generations, it’s all about the styling and marketing.
Joe went from selling a handful of cars in a scrapyard to a projected £50m turnover in just two and a half years, without taking a single day off as he built his high-end second hand car dealership.
The Oakdene Collection is a world away from the old flagged showroom, test drive-style of second hand car dealer – he operates a 100% click and collect system. Nobody walks in the door, everything is online.
From the start, Joe prioritised photography and videography, to target the increasingly online consumer audience – he did it himself at first then hired a full time professional team who now work in a purpose-built photo studio with turntable, photographic lighting and top spec camera equipment to produce standout imagery and videos.
His approach works: The Oakdene Collection went from a standing start at the end of 2022 to turning over £34m in the last 12 months – and it is set to turn over £50m in the next 12 months, with a projected profit of over £2.5m. Joe now has a team of 50 people, top spec offices and the professional photostudio. He is about to sign the deal on new premises to take the business to the next stage, hiring 30-40 more staff including more photographers, workshop and motor tech professionals, and increasing capacity to well over 400 cars.
Married with a two-year-old daughter, Joe was born in Kirby Ashfield in Nottingham and left school straight after his GCSEs. He spent his younger years reading all about cars and was passionate about making something with his life. Having tried a few jobs, he was working on a print machine for a large printing company, until someone praised him on his ‘job for life’.
This made Joe realise how unhappy he was, so he turned back to his major passion: cars. Taking his earnings to a car auction, he used his knowledge of stock and pricing from years of reading about cars to buy two vehicles, to which he added the flair they needed to sell online: proper paint, striking photography and videography. He hired a painter and did all the filming and photography himself. He made £2.5k profit flipping a Mini Cooper and it inspired him to keep going, buying more cars to store at home and sell on.
The moment it all really changed was when Christopher Smith, owner of Auto100, offered Joe his old empty scrapyard for him to use as a base. Joe was able to buy and store more cars and, still using the same spraypainter, started increasing the number of vehicles on his books, sourcing and still photographing them himself editing the images from a caravan on the scrapyard. His first investment was a turntable for filming and photography, to show off the cars properly and target the customers more effectively – and he spent every evening editing the images and films.
His success is based on:
- His entrepreneurial ethic – Joe did almost everything himself, including the photography, until increased stress made him realise he needed to expand his team in order to grow healthily.
- The support of a fantastic mentor who saw his potential – and who is still involved in the business.
- ‘The fear’ – the well-meaning comment made by his relative that inspired Joe to take the plunge and spend his savings on cars.
- The art and presentation – realising the passion that other people have for cars and providing proper photography and videography that would sell vehicles properly online, delivering true standout from the old approach.