Amari Supercars: The Preston dealership selling £5m cars to the UK's billionaires, royalty, and celebrities

Trading exclusively in the highest-end supercars imaginable, their pristine stock is a world away from your run-of-the-mill third-hand motors with mileages befitting a Boeing 747. They operate in the realm of Aston Martins and Rolls Royces, Lamborghinis and Ferraris, Porsches, and Bugattis.

Founded in 1980 and based at Millennium City Park in Preston the company stocks a wide range of both contemporary and classic supercars at their purpose-built 10,000-sq-ft showroom. Practically bursting at the seams with engineering pedigree, Amari has - at any one time - an estimated £60m-worth of the world's finest supercars for sale.

"It's a real family business," explains head buyer Sheikh Amari, whose father founded the company. "I've always had a love for cars and have been fortunate enough to grow up around high-end models like Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches, which was extremely exciting because there weren't that many of them around in those days.

"Nowadays, if you asked 100 people if they knew someone with a supercar, I reckon 95% would," adds Sheikh, 49, who took over the business in the mid-'90s. "The '70s and '80s changed everything as the supercar started evolving and we just see our role as bringing that market to the masses."

Run by the husband-and-wife team of Sheikh and Director Saba Syed, Amari has done business with celebrities, billionaires, and royalty, as well as being featured in a number of TV programmes. If you are so inclined, you can peruse their virtual showroom where you will find a £1.7m Bugatti Veyron, a 1972 Ferrari 365 GT/4, a £1.05m hybrid Porsche 918 Spyder, a ££679,995 McLaren Senna, and an assortment of Lamborghinis, Jaguars, Rolls Royces, Aston Martins, Mercedes, and Maseratis.

"Everyday you get up and there are new deals to be done - there's always a thrill in buying and selling cars and it's a really exciting industry to be in," explains Sheikh, who is originally from London. "Not only that, it's great to be dealing with new people and clientele as the UK's biggest independent supercar dealer.

"When people come to us, they know they're getting the best service," he adds, with Amari currently employing 10 people, including Sheikh's nephew Anil Hayre, who works in sales. "The most important thing is that the client is happy and over the moon with the product. That's our USP: service is everything because people don't forget good service.

"We want to leave a lasting impression."

Due to Covid-19, Amari's bricks-and-mortar showroom is currently closed but the company is still open for business, supplying prospective buyers with personalised videos and live FaceTime calls. In fact, Sheikh says that business has been booming in lockdown - Amari recently sold a £5m Bugatti to a buyer in Europe.

"We're doing live videos and talking customers through the car button-by-button so when they receive the vehicle they're happy," he explains. "It's about being flexible and being willing to walk people through the sale as best we can virtually."

Asked if he is proud of having seen the business develop over the years, Sheikh answers with a question of his own. "What's business growth - having a bigger showroom with more cars or having a lot of satisfied customers?" he asks. "Our growth has been built on happy customers.

"That's what we want because the business will expand as long as the customers get the best service," he adds. "You can have the best cars in the world, but if your service is terrible, then you can forget it."

Throughout the interview, Sheikh's passionate love for cars is evident. "I love the job; it's my life," he says. "People say I don't have blood running through my veins, I have super unleaded fuel. I love every day, every phone call, every car, every deal - it's all exciting and I'm always hungry for the next deal.

"Knowing we're helping people walk away happy with their dream car is great."