Episode 2 Auction Hero

Right now, all of us are feeling the pinch

and our nation's charities are no exception.

It's difficult to give as much as we used to

and sadly it's the small charities that are suffering the most.

It is a struggle to find extra money.

I'm up to my limit. I can't work any harder than what I'm doing.

These charities are run by volunteers

who dedicate their lives to helping others.

One adult, one child?

That's correct, yep.

'My life is a world away from Britain's struggling charities,

'but now I want to give something back.

'My name is Andrew Lamberty. I'm an international antiques dealer

'based in London's Belgravia.

'I find beautiful, esoteric, unusual, amazing things.'

I've found a collection of glass eyes.

I buy them and I sell them.

'But now I think I can use my talent for buying art and antiques...'

-550, is it.

-No. Well, 500 is it.

'..to sell to my wealthy clients...'

That has actually seen the Cuban Missile Crisis.

'..and give the profits to these heroic small charities.'

-Always go round the front of the horse.

-Hi.

'But it's not going to be easy.

'The recession has hit the antiques trade too...'

Well, they're not right for this room.

1,600 quid.

MAN SIGHS

In isolation, I probably wouldn't buy either of these.

'..and making money is harder than ever before.'

When the market was really buoyant, people would have to have your

arm off for those, cos otherwise someone else would buy them.

'I've given myself just three months to make the money

'the charities need.

'So I'm going to bid at auction, travel overseas to trade fairs

'and even organise a special auction evening.'

I am going to sell, thank you!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

'And rather than keeping the money, I'll give all the profits

'to these small charities who make Britain a better place.'

This represents changed lives, Andrew, it does.

'I've been buying and selling art and antiques for the past 20 years.

'Today I have a gallery in Belgravia,

'but it hasn't been easy to get here.'

Started as a van driver for a local auction house.

I think my opening salary was 45 quid a week.

I then left and worked for a dealer and in the evenings

and at the weekends, I went to auctions

and I started buying and selling, trading.

Pine trunks, 50 quid, sell for 70 and it was graft.

We call it in the trade "grocering", just simple buying and selling.

And, you know, there was passion behind it, but I can't say

the goods were particularly exceptional at that stage of my career.

When you're driving around in a van that cost you 500 quid

and you're driving 60,000 miles a year,

you're on a steep learning curve and you're learning the value of money.

'With some expert help, I've selected two small charities

'whose donations are drying up.

'In each case, I'm putting up my own money

'to buy and sell art and antiques.

'I'll do the work, the charities will get all the profits.

'The first charity has brought me north of the border to Aberdeen.

'In Britain, more than a million disabled people live alone

'and this charity, called Future Choices,

'provides a community club to bring disabled people together.

'It's run by David Forbes, who's turned his own

'family crisis into a reason to help others.'

I was actually working. I got told to come through to the office

and my manager at the time said,

"Your mum's been rushed into hospital.

"There's a taxi coming for you straight away."

I realised it was a lot worse than that, cos you don't just get a taxi

straight for you if it's just a fall.

And I went into the room to see her lying on the bed, motionless.

Seeing this person you've always called Mum lying there

and then the doctor said that she'd been clinically dead...

I was there...

I was there all the time,

by her side, talking a load of rubbish.

It was three, four days down the line that nothing was happening.

The machines was beeping and everything,

the machines were keeping her there.

And then there was one minute and her eyelash started to flicker and

I've never shouted for the doctor so, so fast and so quick in my life.

And then, when I went back in, she looked at me

and I kind of thought... I didn't know what to expect,

I didn't know if she was going to recognise me or who I was.

And then when she said... silently whispered, "Hi, David."

Nobody thought she would come through it and she did.

They did some tests and it proved that she had a condition

called hypoxic brain injury,

and in English and broken-down terms,

that's basically short-term memory loss.

So it's made her require full-time, 24-hour care

and so I decided to take the plunge, so to say.

And a lot of people say that I was ridiculously stupid

and, at such a young age,

you're only mid-20 your life's just starting.

But I decided to take care of her and eight years later,

something like that, I love every minute of it.

When the council was forced to reduce disability care

because of budget cuts, David set up this charity to plug the gap.

Not only does the charity provide a weekly social group,

they also run a minibus to collect members from their homes.

It was bought second hand and now needs vital repairs

to keep it on the road.

Without it, most of the members would be stranded at home, alone.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-I'm Andrew.

Hi, I'm David, I'm the chairman of Future Choices charity.

Hello, nice to meet you.

I'm obviously here to learn a little bit about the set-up

of what you do and how you operate and what you need.

People come here to socialise and they get to do activities,

so it's kind of like being back at school.

They can have a good old laugh and joke, catch up.

Are a lot of them on their own for the rest of the week?

Yeah, so this is the only time they get to see their friends.

It is vital.

It's a great place to come to, because you make new friends,

you actually meet folk and you'd remember.

Yes. I mean, we all need things to live for.

I mean, would you say that you live for coming here?

Oh, yes. Definitely.

On a scale of one to ten, how important is it to you?

-Ten.

-It is. Well, that was a quick answer, that was easy.

'Another thing that struck me about the charity

'was the number of young people volunteering.'

It kind of seems really commendable that young people

are coming and helping, you know.

I think more young people should generally do it,

cos it's a good thing to get into,

it's not really any stress to do it and it's good to help out

-other people that maybe aren't as fortunate as yourself.

-Yeah.

It's just something good to do, really.

I'm learning what kind of difficulties people

have got in life, you know what I mean?

It's not easy going out there

and trying to push yourself in a wheelchair.

You know, it's not easy using a walking stick either.

I can see these people with the disabilities they've

got are benefiting a great deal from coming here.

Not only that, terrific group of volunteers who are energetic

and generous-spirited and I want to match that generosity of spirit

and I want to contribute something here myself.

'David runs this charity on just £5,500 a year.'

So, what an interesting morning.

I now need to know what you need

and what kind of target I need to set myself.

One thing that springs to mind automatically is our bus.

It is second hand.

Always something to pay for to keep it running,

to keep it legally on the road, et cetera.

To pick up members, to take them to our class.

So I'm looking for, say, 1,500 for the bus,

just to keep the bus on the road.

And then there's the social interaction and recreational

activities and I would like a cinema screen, cos not

a lot of people can go out into the town centre to go to the cinema, and

a lot of our members would be over the moon in having a cinema screen

so they can come together,

very community-based group, come together.

That would probably set us a target of around about £1,000.

So we have to shake on that,

on getting you £2,500, if I possibly can.

And I shall go and head south and see what I can do.

OK, thank you very much. Good seeing you.

-My pleasure.

-Thank you.

'The bus is only just on the road.

'David needs money for it as soon as possible.

'Six years ago, making money was easy,

'but even my wealthy customers are cutting back these days.

'So there are no guarantees, and the market goes dead in January,

'so I have to make the deals before Christmas,

'which is three months away.'

I'm going to buy a number of items that I think I can trade quickly.

I'm going to use everything at my disposal to buy really

well on behalf of these charities. I'm going to go to little auctions,

I'm going to go to trade fairs, I'm going to get my address book out

to make the most sales I possibly can,

get into my private clients.

And I'm going to have a big charity auction

coming up to Christmas, cos that's the way to make the big money.

'I absolutely love antique globes.

'Not only are they beautiful objects

'but they tell us so much about the way the world has changed.

'Previously, the most valuable globes documented the age

'of exploration, but I've spotted a rare and rather different one that's

'coming up for auction in Cirencester

'that is out of this world.'

It's a globe of Mars and it's a big one.

It's very rare, I've never seen one as big.

I'm hoping it's in good condition.

I don't know, if you've seen a lot of globes, like I have,

you get more interested in the quirky, rarer ones.

So celestial globes, so the ones with the stars and

the heavens, they're rather nice and they're always dark blue or black.

And then the moon ones are very attractive, as well,

and they were brought out after the lunar landings in 1969.

You tend to gravitate towards the rare things, the unusual.

And Mars globes are rare and unusual.

'If the Mars globe is as good as I'm hoping, I should be able to

'sell it on quickly to make a profit for the disabled community group.

'I found an error in the catalogue.

'That puts me at a distinct advantage,

'as rival buyers are likely to overlook it.

'In the antiques trade we call that a sleeper.'

I must read you the catalogue description.

"A good moon globe.

"Unsigned and unlabelled by the maker.

"Printed with named craters, mountain ranges,

"valley seas and other distinctive features on stand."

It's red. It's the Red Planet.

The clue's in the colour.

HE LAUGHS

So it's a Mars, not a moon.

'Today's a viewing day for dealers at this auction house which

'specialises in historical artefacts and I'm in heaven.'

Look at these.

They're heavy, eh? Sorry, I'm meant to be looking for a globe,

but I got distracted by machine guns. That's a...

That is a rare Lewis gun.

Look at that.

Look at that.

Have a look at this.

I rather like the old signs for buses and Tubes.

In fact, I bought... Last year,

I bought about ten of the old enamel

Tube signs and they were really lovely.

I made them into kitchen tables and they sold like that.

CLICKS FINGERS

Some quite interesting kit here,

but I can't find what I'm looking for yet. So try another room.

Some seats from Concorde.

'Concorde has its own collectors' market.

'I once bought and sold the iconic nose cone, which was

'a beautiful object, and I made a tidy profit.

'But the seats, they're not pretty, so they're not saleable.

'This is better. A wind tunnel model from the '60s.'

A big one, as well. Nice, interesting.

But the nose is down on the front,

which is kind of not so attractive.

'Right, back to what I've come here to find, the Mars globe.'

Brilliant, the lot's really well hidden and it's basically been

dumped under a girder in the corner and you can't see it.

Oooh!

It's nice!

'This is one of the first ever globes of Mars,

'with surface features provided by NASA's Mariner 4.'

I don't want to attract too much attention to myself here.

Let's view this quickly.

It dates from the 1960s.

That's a big Mars.

'Sorry, I've got to say it - with globes, size is important'.

Well, Scotland have lucked out today.

Let's get out of here. There's more people coming.

I really love it when you turn something up like this.

It's like shucking oysters, isn't it, and then, "Whoa, pearl!

"Result!"

So what I'm going to do later on today is I'll book a telephone line

and they will phone me live in the auction and I will bid live.

Top limit's a grand.

I don't want to pay a grand. I want to nick it,

I want to nick it for 250 quid.

PHONE RINGS

OK, this is the auction house.

The globes, great, thank you. The globe, yep.

Yes, bid, good. Come in any time you like.

150, we'll have that, yep, bid, bid, bid.

Yes, go.

220. Yes.

Just bid 500.

Oh, did you? Oh, thank you, was it my bid?

Oh, goodness, I thought it was against me

and I was going to try and blow them out.

OK, we got it, done.

Often a good tactic in a auction,

if it's kind of like you're going from 300, 320, 340, 360, 380

and you get into a habit-forming thing where the person just bids.

Whereas if you actually stop them up by going, "No, actually,"

bang, put in a big top bid, that normally holds them up.

But he said actually they'd fallen out and that it was mine

at £420, so yes, bought.

'I'm on my way to meet the second small charity I'd like to help.'

And I guess, in a way, these people are broadly similar to myself

when I first started out.

They are individuals with a passion or a drive who care

particularly for something.

In this case, it's not a business, but a charitable cause.

'I'm going to use my expertise in the antiques business to help

'the people who spend their lives helping others.

'In Gosport on the South coast, Steve Dent

'and his volunteers run a food bank on just £7,500 a year.

'Relying on donations from the local community,

'they provide emergency food parcels for families in crisis.'

So, Steve, do you think demand is increasing, stayed the same?

It's been increasing year on year,

but this year we saw a significant increase.

You think that's down to the economy?

Yes, yeah, undoubtedly.

It's difficult to actually pinpoint if there's one particular thing,

but we've saw a 40% increase compared to the same time last year.

And that's not just cos you're reaching out to more people more successfully?

I don't think so, no.

I just think the demand, the need, has just grown to that level now.

'Across Britain, the number of food banks has DOUBLED in the past year.

'This charity operates from the back

'of a second-hand furniture warehouse.'

Full of particularly choice furniture, yeah.

We are not in Belgravia.

'Because of the increased demand,

'the existing storage space for food is now too small.

'Eileen is one of the charity's 30 volunteers.'

I've come to have a look at your setup today.

We'd like a bigger place,

we'd like a place where we can speak to the clients more.

Yeah, it's a bit public here, isn't it?

They find it embarrassing enough coming along.

'Mark is one of 2,500 people in the Gosport area who use

'the food bank every year.'

-Oh, hi.

-Hello, love.

I've got a voucher.

Thanks. Have you been before, Mark?

-Yes.

-You have.

And it's one adult and one child?

That's correct, yep.

OK, won't keep you long. There's a seat there,

-if you want to have a sit down, but won't be long.

-OK, thank you.

So how do you end up... I mean, I know it's personal thing,

but how do you end up stuck in a corner like you've...

Well, I was in privately rented accommodation. Landlord decided

-he wanted to put his house on the market, so we had to move out.

-Yeah.

And the council said the only place they've got at the moment,

until they re-house us, is a family hostel.

-Right.

-All the food I had, like, frozen has been like defrosted now

-cos there's no freezers at the hostel.

-OK.

Basically, whatever I get here today, obviously,

is going to help this week, until next week when I get paid.

Right, so how long do you think you'll be there?

Well, they said, "Up to four months, you could be there."

-Four months?

-Yeah.

-Wow, OK. Good luck, Mark.

-Thank you very much.

-And have a nice journey home.

And thank you very much for the food.

-You're very welcome.

-Bye, Mark.

-Thank you very much.

-Hope it goes well for you.

-Thank you, see you later.

-Bye.

-Bye.

It was bit of an eye-opener to meet Mark.

It's not that easy to witness it, actually. It's not that, you know...

It's slightly uncomfortable, cos it's...

You know, you feel very sorry for people

who've arrived at that kind of position in life.

I feel very lucky, feel a bit guilty to be so lucky.

Steve, thank you for asking me down here today.

It's been an eye-opener meeting Mark, talking with him,

talking with Eileen.

Now, what do you need?

Well, as you've seen, where we

currently are is just totally unsuitable.

We just can't support the need.

What we need is basically to move

and we're under a tight timescale, really.

I guess, you know, we're going to have to move within the next

three, three and a half months if we're going to be able to continue.

So you want to move. What's it going to cost and what do you...?

Well, probably in the region of about £2,000 in terms

of running costs, I guess.

There's the cost of moving and the cost of rent.

And then probably, you know, another thousand pounds, I guess,

in terms of being able to get set up.

OK, so I've got it clear,

you need £3,000 to move

and get a new place set up

and you need that money in three and a half months' time.

So I'm up against it on the time a little bit, as well?

OK, well, I'll have to bear that in mind.

That puts me under a bit of time pressure, but I'm sure I'll cope.

I will do my very best.

Oh, bless you, thank you. That'll be fabulous.

All right, well, I'm going to depart back for town.

'Steve is on a deadline to move and I've only got three months to make

'the money he needs, as the antiques market shuts down at Christmas.'

'I regularly go to Paris on buying trips for my business so, while

'I'm there, I can be on the lookout

'for my first item for the food bank.'

I'm here in Paris, the palaces of the Louvre to my left,

formerly the seats of the kings of France.

They were the wealthiest people in the world

in the 17th and 18th centuries.

It's not lost on me that I'm now here shopping for Steve

and some of the most disadvantaged people in our country.

'I've come to one of my favourite hunting grounds,

'the Marche aux Puces on the northern edge of the city.

'It's the biggest flea market in the world with over 2,000 stalls

'and a huge variety of items on offer.'

Great place to visit.

You always feel a sense of anticipation coming up here.

There's a lot of gear to look at and you always,

always find something interesting here.

It's inspiring too.

Few nice little pair of chairs here, always commercial,

small pair of chairs.

These little chairs are called salon chairs.

Now, 18th or 19th century?

I know what they are just looking at them from here.

First thing, style is 18th century, Louis XVI.

This, stylistically, first came about in about 1780.

What you want to do, though, is you want to look underneath the seat

in here and you see that's cut by a machine, not by hand.

If it's hand cut it's all serrated and rough,

that would mean it's 18th century.

If you look at the top here, it would be pegged here and here if it

was an 18th century chair.

This one is just tenoned through the joint.

So, these, 18th or 19th century?

19th, these came from about 18...

Ah, here we are.

These date from about 1890, 1880.

Smooth seat rail,

wear on the bottom of the feet, not too much.

Nice original paintwork,

but 120 years old, not 220 years old.

I would only buy a 19th century chair if it was absolutely

exceptional, a very interesting, quirky piece of design.

Otherwise, the market is stronger in the 18th century.

'I need to find an item that I can sell quickly.

'Time is ticking and I need to make the food bank £3,000.'

I've found a collection of glass eyes,

old glass eyes.

Judging from the box, I think they'd be around the turn of

the last century, about 1900.

They're fabulous. There's something really surreal about them.

'The box is covered in shagreen, which is stingray skin,

'and always an indication of quality.

'It become fashionable, again, from 1900.'

Vous m'avez dit mille cinq cents?

Mille cinq cents.

So these are 1,500. They're not cheap but it's given me an idea.

Today I think I might build a collection for Steve.

That might be the way forward.

When you put a lot of similar objects together, there's

an added value in there and make the objects really more appealing.

OK, we're in here.

This is fantastic.

Really nice collections

of starburst mirrors dating from the 1940s.

They're metal spiky ones and they're really cool.

I recently sold a set of ten of these for £11,000.

Oh, let's have a look at this fella.

OK, this one, condition-wise,

is what we don't want.

That's all rusted and oxidising

and the gilding's gone off it.

Nice plate, you do want that pitting on a plate there.

That's a nice old mercury gilded plate.

Let's have a look at the back.

Probably an original back, but it's not stamped.

I bet one of these is stamped.

Let's find one with a stamp.

'The stamp I'm looking for will read "Chaty Vallauris" after

'the designer and town of manufacture

'and is therefore an original.'

Yes.

OK, that's got an original back, that one there.

Gold spray cardboard back, Chaty Vallauris.

You should always look at the back of a piece of furniture.

Look at its oxidation, grub, general rusting from use.

You'd look for some wear on the hook where it'd been hung up,

obviously got some old dents.

You can tell it's an old one.

There's also a very rare one, which will be the centre of the

collection, which is an oval shape. I've never seen an oval one before.

I know I shouldn't get excited about an oval sunburst mirror, but I can.

Including the oval one behind me,

I would like to buy... I've looked around and I'd like to buy nine.

The price, it's...

Nine... 2,700.

For nine, let's call it 2,500.

-No, no, no.

-No?

No, because I buy sometimes 200,

sometimes I pay 250.

When I sell for 200, I will only...

So you want 2,700, but that includes this oval one here?

Yes, this is one I sell for the same price,

the big one I make the same price.

-OK.

-And sometimes I don't win.

'At just under £2,200 they are a really good buy.

'And I've got a client in mind.

Those...

'I'm back in Britain with my haul of mirrors in the back of the van.

'I've bought them at a great price. Let's hope I can sell them

'for an even better one.

'I'm meeting James Perkins at his country house

'to try and make a sale.

'He's a collector with eclectic tastes

'who made his money as a rave promoter in the '90s.

'I need to move these mirrors on quickly

'so I'm looking to sell for around £3,500, £4,000.'

I mean they're '40s/'50s. French, from Vallauris.

A few of them have the original backs on with the stamped label.

That's the really rare one, that oval one there.

That's a really nice one.

Yes, I've never seen an oval one.

I mean, my only comment would be they all seem to be quite

similar types of starbursts.

Hmmm... No, that one's round.

No, but you know in the way that they're detailed,

they all seem to have this sort of roping around.

With the rope twist, yeah?

Let me get up on a chair and have a look up here,

cos I think that's the only way you're going to get to see them.

Well, the thing that I obviously have to ask is - how much are they?

Well, you know I want to look after you.

3,800 quid for the lot.

I mean, can I ask you what they cost you?

You can, but I'd probably lie.

HE LAUGHS

See, that's honesty between friends, you see.

Err...

Hmm...

Well, look, they're very interesting.

I think it's a bloody good look as well,

and it's not a look that I've covered.

That's the thing... I say I haven't covered it,

-we're looking at a giant convex behind the polar bears.

-Yes, yeah.

-So shall we go and see if we can find a place for them?

-Mmm.

And then you can beat me up on the price.

Well, that's good.

I've learnt something - there's room for margin.

There you are, I thought I'd better just feed that one out.

Let me have a think on it.

I don't want to talk myself into it if it doesn't work.

Back in the day, when the market was really buoyant,

people would have to have your arm off for those,

cos otherwise someone else would just buy them.

I'd put them in the window of my gallery, they'd be gone. 24 hours, bang, done.

And for quite a lot more money.

But we are in more cautious times. There's less money about,

people are more cautious and they know they can drive a good bargain.

He knows it. He knows I know it.

'It's not lost on me,

'the contrast between James' millionaire pile

'and the food bank I'm trying to help.

'I've left the mirrors with James so he can decide

'whether to buy them or not.

'Let's hope he does the decent thing.'

'The Mars globe that I bought for the disabled community group

'in Aberdeen has arrived from the auction house.'

OK, well, I'll see you tomorrow night anyway...

'The charity needs £2,500 to keep their bus on the road.'

CAR ENGINE SPLUTTERS

Jim has been a volunteer driver for the charity

since his disabled wife joined the group six months ago.

This bus, it needs a new fuel tank.

We can only put half a tank of fuel in it.

And it needs new heaters for starting the engine in the frost.

And it's due an MOT in two or three months.

It will fail its MOT without spending money on it.

Cos I used to be an MOT tester.

HE LAUGHS

The bus is a vital resource for the members who have mobility problems.

Without it, they wouldn't be able to come to the community group.

DAVID: 'They've already told me they're scared to lose the service.

'If they lose the service, they have nothing left and I just can't...

'I can't even think like that.'

If we had £2,500, it would just be amazing.

I mean, we would allocate £1,500 - it's a nice figure.

We would have that for the bus, which I can't express how much...

..that would mean, especially to the members.

These people don't have anything

and because they're on benefits,

to have that kind of money to be given to us for the charity

for us to spend on them...

it would just... It would just be amazing.

My fundraising team wouldn't stop fighting, my fundraising team

would still be out there tomorrow getting as much things as

they can, but it would be a morale boost for them and it would be

a great boost of confidence and self esteem for the members.

'It's now October. I've got just two months to make both charities

'the money they need before the market goes quiet at Christmas.

'I'm getting a little worried.

'I've yet to hear from James Perkins about the starburst mirrors

'and in my business, no news is usually bad news.'

'I'm back in Paris for another buying trip for my business.'

Not glamorous Paris, in gritty banlieue Paris.

This is the Marche aux Puces, the flea market,

largest antiques market in the world.

'This is where I bought the starburst mirrors on my last visit

'so while I'm here, I'll be on the lookout

'for a companion piece for the Mars globe.

'Collections have more impact and they're worth more money.'

I don't know what I'm going to find here.

This is not stuff that's going to feature on the internet.

You know, this is graft.

You have to just do the miles.

'As yet, I've not made a penny towards the £2,500 the charity

'needs to keep the bus on the road.'

So you can see, there's a huge variety of stands here

selling all sorts of things.

'My strategy is to find pieces I can sell on quickly for profit.

'That means not paying over the odds.'

I like the look of this one.

Le prix?

OK, merci.

So this is a very nice lamp by Pierre Giraudon and he

pioneered making resin by putting

large volts of electricity through

it as it was drying and then that creates that kind of fractured look.

He started as a chemist, actually,

and then he became an artist and

he worked for all the big fashion houses in the '70s,

refitting shops and things like that.

And this became terribly fashionable, this look.

That's a very big one.

Super cool, but it's 3,500 euros.

That's a walk-away price.

Oh, that's a big globe.

Combien, le monde?

'The countries aren't labelled, so that tells me it's a military globe

'and would've been used for basic navigational training by pilots.'

I think it's expensive.

I've bought and sold a lot of globes in my life.

I think I can make a price.

'I'd say from the look of it's '50s,

'probably used during the Cold War by the air force or the navy.'

So what's the best price?

I can make 900.

I'd want to pay more like 600 for that.

I can make 750 cash.

If we talk livres sterling now,

cos I have livres sterling in my pocket.

I mean, I really... 500 is it. 500 sterling.

OK, give me £550...

-No, 500.

-550.

-500.

550 is it.

No, 500 is it.

-500?

-Yeah.

500 is very difficult...

Hmmm...

OK, OK, OK.

Done.

500 is good.

Ambush. Thank you. OK, I'm happy.

'At £500, I'm guaranteed to make a profit

'for the disabled community group.

'I'm going to see a collector who's bought many globes

'from me in the past.'

So, this chap.

I am selling this on behalf of a charity based up in Aberdeen

who are in need of some funding.

'Now to talk up the provenance and seal the deal.

'Where there's a story, there's a profit.'

So I went to Paris and bought this from a trader there who

bought it from an American who'd been based in Paris

all his life who was, I don't know, an admiral.

That's what he said, anyway.

So we can actually probably imagine, looking at the date of it,

from the '50s, that that has

actually seen the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Oh, yes, of course, yes.

It may have been plotting global defence.

No, it's beautiful. It's rather unusual,

because there's no names on it, country names.

No, I think you're expected to know your geography

if you're a rear admiral in the US Navy.

So it's them and us.

-This is a Cold War globe.

-Yes.

And these military globes are always very plain.

Sometimes you get just absolutely plain black ones

which you can chalk on.

-And rub out as you destroy the opposition.

-That's it.

Very best on this is...

750.

-Fine.

-And I think £750 is a very reasonable price.

Yeah, no, I think that's fair.

-I'm a good judge.

-Yeah.

-So shall we shake on that one?

-I think we've got a deal.

-Shall we get that done?

-Thank you very much.

Let's move that out of the way.

'So I bought that globe in a Paris flea market for £500,

'I just sold it for 750.'

It's a good start. It's a profit, I'm on the way.

'And with Pascal in a buying mood, I've sold him

'the Mars globe as well, for another £750.'

And you're now the proud owner of a rather wonderful Mars globe.

OK, cheers, cheers, bye.

'With both globes sold quickly, that's almost £500 towards

'the two and a half grand that the disabled community group

'need to keep that bus on the road.'

'But, so far, I have failed in my efforts to make any money

'for the Gosport food bank.'

So James didn't buy the starburst mirrors,

which is pretty disappointing.

I need to get going with those and get them sold.

They're a lovely-looking item and I've sold them before,

so I've got to get my skates on.

I haven't got long.

Steve needs to get that food bank open

and I need to get him the money.

The Gosport food bank is struggling to keep up with demand.

Tucked away in the back of a furniture warehouse,

they desperately need more space so they can continue to operate.

'Steve and one of the volunteers, Eileen,

'have invited me down to see their potential new premises.'

Ah, it's so much better. Look at the light coming in here.

Yes, yeah, wonderful.

It's over twice the space of where we currently are

and we can actually store probably three to four times as much

food here, which is absolutely wonderful.

This is the room, Andrew, that we're planning to use as a reception room.

And to make it more welcoming, we're going to be putting in some sofas.

I can really feel for these people and want to lift them

out of the mud that they're in, or whatever you want to call it.

Just lift their lives, so they can have a better life.

I have, in the past, had a hard time myself, way back in the past.

I married young, unfortunately it was not a good marriage...

but one perseveres.

We were very hard up. I had two children,

my first child had cancer

and eventually died of the cancer...

..and my husband was leaving me at the same time.

So...

It was not a good time in your life.

No and very, very hard up as well... Excuse me.

But that was a long time ago and things

are much, much better. And...

You bring the joy of your recovery to other people now, really, don't you?

-Yes, I know...

-You know there's a way.

Yes, exactly. I know there is a way, things can happen.

-It's about...

-Oh, come on.

I'm no nearer to making the food bank the £3,000

they need to move premises.

I need to sell these starburst mirrors.

And I've now just got one month to do it before the antiques market

shuts down at Christmas.

This is our dialogue with our customers

right here and so I thought we'll put these in the window.

They're quite Christmassy, we're coming up to Christmas,

they're kind of jewel-like, they're jewellery for your wall.

And I think they look absolutely terrific

and I'm hoping we'll stop a bit of traffic.

You know, people do actually drive past and call us up,

so it's giving them the best shot they can possibly have.

'I started in this trade 20 years ago,

'buying antique boxes for 50 quid and selling them for 70.

'With time against me, I'm going

'back to basics to make a quick turn for the food bank.'

'I'm seeing a local dealer who specialises in antique memento mori.

'Memento mori is Latin for "remember you will die"

'and this symbolic reminder has been used

'mainly in Christian art since medieval times.'

-Can we have a look at that?

-Yeah.

Thank you.

Has it got its liner? Yes.

This is made from brass, probably late 19th century.

-What, 1890?

-About right.

-Yep.

How much is it?

That's £100.

So, done.

OK, thank you. Would you like it wrapped, sir?

No, I don't need it wrapped, thank you.

I don't need the full service. Trade price.

I can take it out on my own.

'I've got a collector in mind who I'm seeing tomorrow evening.

'He's a bit of a fan of memento mori and I'm sure he's going to bite.'

'At the end of our business dinner,

'I slip the memento mori into the conversation.'

You see, they remind you of your own mortality,

they don't do anything to assuage it.

So you still end up looking like that.

I'm sure we can shake on...300.

Well, I'm going to pause for effect,

but I'm going to take your hand.

Thank you.

'That's a quick £200 for the food bank.'

'And I've had some great news about the starburst mirrors.'

Sold, yes.

I got a phone call.

They left a message on my mobile

saying they'll take them.

So we'll invoice those out today.

Sold for £4,000 for the whole lot.

So a nice, tidy little profit, actually.

'Added to the profit for the memento mori, that's £2,000 towards

'the £3,000 total that the food bank need to move premises.

'But with less than a month to make the rest of the money,

'I've now got to turn my attention to the charity auction that I've

'planned the week before Christmas.

'My strategy is to buy small, luxury items that will appeal

'to a festive crowd.

'I'm hoping in a single night I'll make

'the rest of the money for both charities.'

'I'm going to buy for the food bank first and I've spotted

'a piece of jewellery that's coming up for auction in Monte Carlo.

'While it would be nice, I don't actually have to be

'there in person to bid.'

Phone call from Monte Carlo coming through any moment

now for a rather lovely gold bracelet.

'This gold bracelet with pearl inlay from the '70s is the perfect

'impulse buy for my charity auction and it has a low estimate,

'so I hope to nick it for less than 1,500 quid.'

Deuxieme enchere.

Cinq cents.

Sept cents.

-Huit cents.

-Huit cents.

Oui, OK.

HE SPEAKS IN FRENCH

GAVEL BANGS

That is one beautiful 1970s gold and pearl bracelet.

Very wearable, very chic, Parisian chic.

'And at just under £1,400, it's a sure winner.'

'From Monte Carlo to Paris for my next buy for the food bank.'

-Bonjour.

-Ca va?

'It's a piece by French modernist sculptor Philippe Hiquily.'

A long time. It's called the Roberts, you know about it.

Yes, let me just say I can translate that, but I won't.

But if you think about the first thing that comes into your head

when you see this sculpture, that is the title.

'Hiquily has been exhibited at the Guggenheim in New York

'and the Pompidou Centre here in Paris.

'This piece is made of Perspex and polished bronze.'

Hiquily, he's quite irreverent, isn't it?

It's always quite naughty and it's quite sexual and...

Yes it was, he was.

And the furniture's very organic, and that's his style, isn't it?

Like this one, I mean, this is obvious what it is

-but you know, it's kind of... It's kind of fun.

-Yeah.

You look at that and you know it's naughty and it makes you smile

and it's quite sexy too.

It is sexy and the title of the sculpture, Les Roberts,

-in French means tits.

-Yeah, I know....

And a lot of sculptures,

his work, is turn on erotic things.

-Erotic things.

-Yeah.

Hiquily is not well-known in the UK except by people like me

who are, you know...

Collectionneur.

Informed, yeah.

He's more famous in New York.

Come on, then, let's cut to some pricing.

What are you asking for it in here, in the gallery?

You know, my dear Andrew,

-the price, le prix public...

-Oui.

-..is 10,000 euro.

-Yes.

And the prix special pour le client special?

The prix special is something like 6,000

and I won't go under that.

Jean-Marc, 6,000 is a very friendly price.

Thank you, you have a deal.

OK.

'Although Hiquily is less well-known in Britain, I'm inviting

'a number of international clients to the charity auction

'and at 6,000 euros, that's a fantastic price.'

With the sculpture and the gold bracelet bought for the food bank,

I hope to make the additional £1,000 I need to reach my £3,000 target.

'Now I'm turning my attention to the disabled community group.

'So far, I've made just under £500 from selling the Mars globe

'and the military globe.

'But they need £2,500 to repair their minibus.

'So I've decided to go for a famous name that is sure to drive up

'the bidding on the night.

'Pablo Picasso.'

If you want to own a Picasso, then you buy a ceramic,

because it's the inexpensive way to own one.

They're also absolutely typical of his work.

Anyway, this one, Dancing Figures, absolutely typical,

it's absolutely wonderful.

There's 400 copies of this produced in the world,

only 400 of them.

The guy's arriving any minute now, I've got an appointment with him.

The price is right.

If the condition's right, I'm going to buy it.

DOORBELL RINGS

Neil, come in. How are you?

-I'm very good.

-Nice to see you.

-Good to see you as well.

Come on in.

One Picasso.

Okey-doke.

Oh, yes, look at that.

So, you can see it's dated 1st August 1957.

It's called Dancing

and you have these three cavorting figures in the centre.

'Picasso began producing ceramics in 1947 at the

'Madoura Pottery in Vallauris,

'the same French town the starburst mirrors were made.'

Let's have a look at the thing at the back.

Oops, I don't want to tip it over too much.

So you've got the edition Picasso stamp.

Yep, so the ones you want are the ones with the small editions.

They're the really valuable ones, in the sort of 20s.

Yeah, I mean, to be honest, what sells is a pretty plate.

Yeah.

So if it's pretty, it sells, even if

it's an apres Picasso,

-frankly, there's not...

-Have a seat.

..there's not too much difference in value

whether it's an apres Picasso

or whether it's an original Picasso plate.

That is such a nice thing. I've been looking for one.

I've been really looking for one, Neil.

Thank you so much for bringing that.

What are you asking for it, retail?

Well, you have to remember that recently prices have zoomed

-skywards for these things.

-Yes.

I'm suggesting a retail price of

six and a quarter is quite a fair one

and seeing as you're a dealer,

I would afford you a 25% trade discount.

-A modest 4,650.

-Yes.

How does that sound?

Well, I said to myself,

"If it's under 5,000, it's well priced."

Yeah, I'll shake your hand on that and say thank you.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

I'm going to sell this in a charity auction

and I'm going to give the profit away.

-I think there is a profit in it.

-I think there's a profit in it too.

-If someone pays 7,000 for that, they've not done badly at all.

-No, absolutely.

-You take care.

-And you.

-Bye.

-Bye. Good night.

'I bought the second item for the disabled community group

'through an online auction.

'It's a beautiful decanter box, complete with four crystal

'decanters and I stole it for £870.

'To ensure the maximum profit, it's at my restorers for a sympathetic

'clean and polish.

'Dating from around 1870, the case is made from walnut and ebony.

'It's the perfect small, luxury item for wealthy buyers

'looking for Christmas presents.

'It also has provenance, which gives authenticity

'and will help attract a good price when I come to sell.'

This case of four decanters was

the property of Admiral Sir Francis Bridgeman,

one-time First Sea Lord.

Resided at Copgrove Hall, near Harrogate.

So it's come from Yorkshire.

That is, presumably, something like his ex libris card.

That's a super, super little box. That's going to find a new home

and that's going to make some good coin.

'The evening of the auction has arrived.

'Tonight is my last chance to get the rest of the money

'the charities need.

'It's a black tie event

'and I've invited my entire black book of international clients.'

Hi, Andrew.

'I've also invited Steve from the food bank.

'I'm selling the gold bracelet

'and the Hiquily sculpture on his charity's behalf.'

Nice to see you in your glad rags.

'I need to make him £1,000 tonight to reach my 3,000 total

'so they can move premises.

'David and volunteer Aaron

'from the disabled community group are also here.

'I've only made them £500 so far with the sale of the globes.

'Tonight I'm selling the Picasso plate and the decanter set for them.

'If I get the prices I want,

'they will be able to repair that minibus.'

'I'm going to be the auctioneer. I'm going to be working that room

'and driving those prices up.'

I hope you've all drunk plenty of wine and you're all talked out

and now you're thinking about spending

a few quid, all in a good cause.

I am now going to get on with selling the first lot,

so cut lead glass crystal,

walnut case. It's burr walnut.

It's English, it's from about 1840, 1850,

and I'm going to get bidding under way.

So, could you please, please start me at 800 quid on this?

I have 900, 1,000,

1,300. Will I go 1,500 here?

1,600, thank you.

1,700, 1,800.

1,900. Was that a nod?

1,900.

GAVEL BANGS

Sold, thank you.

Next, a plate by the world's greatest 20th century artist,

Pablo Picasso.

4,500, I'll take 4,600,

we'll go up in hundreds.

4,600, 4,700.

5,000, 5,100.

5,200, I do have 5,200.

5,300, sir.

5,600, 5,700.

It's only money.

5,800, thank you. 5,800.

5,900.

And I am going to sell for £5,900.

6,000 behind you.

6,000.

£6,200, to the man who's heard of Pablo Picasso.

I am going to sell, thank you!

GAVEL BANGS

I'm going to cut to Monaco, that's where I bought this.

I would like to start you at £1,000.

1,000, thank you sir.

1,100.

1,200.

1,300. 1,400.

Would you like to bid, madam?

1,700.

2,300 at the front here.

Oh, 2,400!

Hammer down pronto, sold.

Thank you very much. I know you want it.

This is an artist's proof,

number one of the artist's proof.

Les Roberts by Philippe Hiquily, Perspex and polished bronze.

Who is going to start me at £4,000?

Are you really not going to buy this?

Come on!

Do you know what these retail for?

You'd be lucky to pick one of these up for under 8,000.

£4,000? No?

Is no-one going to buy this sculpture for 4,000, no?

Cos I will pass. No?

Pass.

'I knew that Philippe Hiquily wasn't that well-known in Britain,

'but I really thought that sculpture would sell.'

We have made you some money, as well, on the two trades

I've done, so you are going to be able set that thing up.

-Thank you very much.

-And if you can't from the money I've made,

I'll make up the difference myself.

Oh, bless you, thank you, that's really kind of you.

I'll write the cheque, I don't care.

'People can spend large sums in galleries like mine

'quite easily and yet £3,000 will make such a difference

'to small charities like the food bank.

'And on the profits of the gold bangle alone,

'I've made the final £1,000 they need,

'which is fantastic and a relief.'

So this is my wonderful Roberts, which didn't sell

at the auction, which was a bit disappointing, actually.

But the good news is it's sold now.

So that has turned a £500 profit,

which I shall add to Steve's total.

And I'm very pleased too.

I'm off to see Steve and I'm going to hand him over a fat cheque

and I have to say it feels very good to be part of his team.

'With the promise I made Steve at the auction,

'today's the day they're moving into their new premises.'

Three months of work, all condensed today

into one piece of paper with some numbers written on it,

which is going to make a lot of difference to a lot of people.

That's a good feeling.

-Andrew!

-Hello.

-Hi, welcome.

-Happy New Year.

-And to you, how are you?

-I'm good.

Well, Steve, the place looks fantastic.

It's a hive of activity today, and we're really excited

because this is the day that we've been waiting for.

So, anyway, I wrote the cheque out earlier.

The last bit of the cheque says 4p.

STEVE LAUGHS

But that's the less significant part of it.

I don't know, it all helps.

Anyway, there's a cheque for

just over three and a half grand.

Wow, thank you so much! That is amazing.

That is just stunning.

This represents changed lives, Andrew.

It does. For those people that are going through

a crisis in their lives,

this makes a significant difference.

So, genuinely, I mean this, thank you so much.

Very pleasurable thing to be able to do, to make a small

difference for someone like Steve and his dedicated team here.

It's called the Basics Bank and as with many things in life,

simple things done very well make a big difference.

That's what he's doing here.

'I've come back to Aberdeen to meet up with David

'and the disabled community group.'

I've got a cheque in my pocket for him and it's going to exceed

his expectations and I'm delighted

that I'm going to be able to give that to him,

because it's a bit extra and if anyone deserves it, David does.

How are you?

I'm very well, how you doing?

-I know you weren't expecting me. How's things?

-I'm shocked.

-How are you?

-I'm very well, thank you. I'm doing good.

Well, hopefully we've got you what you wanted, I think.

So you'll be keeping your bus on the road

and hopefully installing a cinema screen.

That's for you,

and it's a little bit more than...

-Oh, my God.

-..you requested.

And that should, as I said,

keep the bus on the road

and install a cinema screen, I hope, or a projector, yeah?

-Good.

-Thank you so much.

-My pleasure.

-Thank you so much.

I know you give your heart and soul into this charity,

-so it's nice to be able to help.

-Oh!

This means a lot.

Oh, I'm shaking now. I'm shaking. Thank you.

-Oh, I mean, this is going to fix...

-Good.

-..so much

and I just can't thank you enough.

I really can't. Thank you so, so, so much.

My pleasure, my pleasure, David. No, really, really.

'In total, I raised £2,873

'for David and the group.'

Ah-ha.

-WOMAN OFFSCREEN:

-Which one, that one?

-That one.

'This has been a humbling experience for me.

'I'm so glad I was able to help.'

I've been... I've been working away, sort of ducking and diving

and come up with that eventually.

So I hope that's going to help out a bit.

-Can I give you a hug?

-Yeah, course you can.

-Thanks very much.

-Thank you, thank you very much.

-Do I get one those every time I bring a cheque?

-Yes.

-Ah-ha.

-Oh.

-Down the bottom.

This is brilliant, isn't it?

Give me a kiss, I'm so happy. I'm so happy.

It's going to be great, cos people are going to be more

and more and more fun.

People are going to get out and about.

-DAVID:

-Seeing the members happy is why I do it.

I get to say to Mum that she's going to get out

and she's going to see her friends

more and it's just the best feeling.

It's, you know, it's like Mother's Day all comes at once.

It's the...

It's just the best feeling.

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