ENGLAND EXPECTS

Paul Richards is one very driven individual. As a teenager he seemed destined for a career as a professional golfer until injury struck. Instead, he taught himself the craft of coach-trimming and began to take commissions from local classic car owners – all while still living at home in Lincoln with his parents.

When the business outgrew the family home, he rented a unit on an industrial estate on the edge of town, took on more and more work, and began to recruit. Today his company, Richards of England, employs a team of eight, stretches across five units on the same gated estate, and encompasses full ground-up restorations, mostly Astons. As a mark of how well-regarded its work is, its latest resto was accepted for this year’s prestigious Salon Privé at Blenheim Palace.

But here’s the thing. Remarkably, neither Paul nor most of his team have a traditional grounding in Aston restorations. Equally remarkably, the boss himself is still only in his