The boss of a Norfolk property firm is hoping to raise hundreds of thousands for the NHS by selling his new sports car.
Justin Henry, who runs Norfolk Barns and lives near Norwich, wants to raise as much money as he can for charity from his bright red 2013, 458 Spider. He cannot afford to give the car away but wants to recoup some of the money he paid for it while giving someone the chance to win a Ferrari as well as hoping to make more than £250,000 for the NHS.
He only bought the car, with a top speed of 210mph, six weeks ago and has hardly been able to drive it in lockdown.
But despite saving up for 10 years to buy it, he felt owning it in the current climate of coronavirus was rather distasteful.
So he and his brothers Jonny and Josh hit on an idea to create a draw whereby people donate £8 a ticket with an independent adjudicator picking a winner at random who will drive away the car.
Mr Henry is not giving away the car but aims to raise enough money to cover the cost of him buying it.
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Getting the draw sorted with all the bureacratic red tape over competition rules has been challenging. Mr Henry even had to change the logo wording he had originally wrapped the car with to conform with the strict rules – but he’s persevered.
After some administration fees for the independent firm PromoVeritas, running the draw, have been taken out, money will go to a charity called Heroes set up by NHS workers which goes to helping front line staff.
Mr Henry said: “I’d always wanted a Ferrari, I’ve waited 10 years to buy one, it’s red with cream inside. It’s beautiful but it just doesn’t feel right with everything that’s happening to own it. I’d love to be giving it away but I can’t afford to do that but then my brothers and I thought we could raise money for charity.
“It’s been a lot harder than I thought to set it up because of all the rules and regulations, we’ve literally spent the last two weeks on the phone. Everything has to comply but we’re there now. One lucky winner will drive away the Ferrari.”
Rules are in place which mean that the car won’t be won unless a certain amount is raised although all the donations will still go to the charity and a winner will be drawn to receive a Ferrari driving experience. To conform to regulations, the draw is actually free to enter. “The spirit of it is to raise money for the NHS so we hope people will make the donation,” Mr Henry added.
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