King of the road

"When are we going to smoke some cigars?" Ian Gorsuch asks a passing Brian Gush, Bentley's director of Powertrain and chassis. Our meeting takes place in the grand setting of Crewe Hall - the most quintessentially British of stately homes, a stone's throw away from Bentley's 60-year-old factory in Cheshire, Northern England.

Having established the company's operations in India, South Africa and the Middle East, Ian Gorsuch has made a welcome return to his native land to check in with the company's board of directors and discuss emerging markets. And, of course, to smoke some fine Cuban cigars with his Bentley brothers.

"It really depends on what Bentley wants to do with me," says Gorsuch, when asked how long he intends to continue his role as regional director of the Middle East, Africa and India.

"I'm grateful they understand that you've got to stay in the Middle East for a long time, and I disagree with anyone who believes you can send someone there for two years and then re-post them. I don't think you can really get to understand the relationships in that amount of time." Since taking up his mission in Bentley's regional headquarters in Dubai, Gorsuch has built the region into a 6% chunk of the group's global revenue with sales in the Middle East alone touching 500 last year.

There are currently around 3000 Bentleys, new and old, on Middle Eastern roads. According to Gorsuch, however, the group is expecting to see a downturn in Middle East sales - in the near future, at least.

"We actually see a reduction in our figures in the next five years because we have a cap to do just under 10,000 cars worldwide, but we are also expanding to new areas around the world," he explains.

"That means the existing areas are going to have less cars and we see ourselves finishing this year under 500, and next year slightly less again, because we want to make sure we maintain the exclusivity and have the same amount of cars spread around more areas."

Bentley's UK manufacturing plant is currently operating at full capacity, rolling out 10,000 cars a year. According to Stuart McCullough, member of the board and director of sales and marketing, it is unlikely that Bentley will increase the production capacity of the plant. Instead, the company is now applying its expertise to drive new revenue streams.

"What we are pushing with our dealers is that they get involved in the used car business, because a used Bentley is considerably more expensive than a brand new Mercedes," says Gorsuch.

"It's a bit of a challenge with our dealers in the Middle East because they tend to focus just on new cars and we have to say that you're going to have less cars going in, and your costs are going to go up, because you are investing in the brand.

"You have to look at other ways to grow your profitability because, like every business, you've got hungry shareholders who want to see a growth in profit, rather than a reduction," he continues.

Another potential moneyspinner for Bentley dealers - such as the UAE's Al Habtoor group or Kuwait's Al Zayani Trading Group - is through Bentley's unique Mulliner channel.

With a coach-building history dating back to 1900, Mulliner allows Bentley drivers to customise their cars to their every need in the company's UK headquarters.

Common requests include accommodating electronic equipment such as Playstations or plasma screen TVs, as well as bulletproof glass and body-armour for high-profile political figures or royalty.

Of course there are also the more unusual requests. A Bentley enthusiast once asked for his car's interior to be decked out with wood taken from his own oak tree. One woman requested that her car be painted the exact same colour as her lipstick, while another member of the Bentley club designed his own fuel cap, which has now been adopted by Bentley for the meagre sum of a British pound.

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