Tom Hartley: The Dealmaker

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But what impressed Hartley most from his studies was the realisation that Presbyterians opened around 80 schools and colleges across Belfast. The sexton stepped in and prevented the funeral. I don't know what the reasons were but there were always tensions between the denominations and it was a Church of Ireland burial ground. It was an Eureka moment," Hartley tells me. "All these years I had been wondering why I was so contrary and argumentative and then I discover I have Presbyterianism in my DNA!"

Thousands of investors lost their savings after the company is alleged to have used their money to lease cars to people with low credit scores. In 2021, Hartley won the Lifetime Achievement Award at our Used Car Awards for his 50 years in business. Hartley is a keen cyclist and still conducts regular tours of Belfast's old cemeteries. Although this is book number three in his graveyard series, there may yet be more, he hints. Now the best part of all of this is when you just cannot find a certain piece of information and then suddenly you come across it and it makes everything else fall into place. That is so gratifying." A rather more affordable Ferrari is a mint-condition 458 Spider. “These are interesting,” notes Hartley, “because they’re worth more than the 488, as people prefer the naturally aspirated engine.”

Summary

Even as a child growing up on the Falls I wondered to myself what was the difference between subscribing and non-subscribing Presbyterianism and so on. Then when I started my research I found out that basically they represented different tensions within Presbyterianism that had to do with interpretations around the central idea of the Reformation, the right of the individual to interpret scripture, and the idea of an organised church.

This is what makes him so interesting: his deep knowledge and, because his business isn’t a franchise, his willingness to speak his mind. Witness his views on McLaren. He’s not shy about Ferrari, either. The grave of Henry Cooke, one of the founders of Balmoral Cemetery in south Belfast. Picture by Mal McCann TOM Hartley has a core "law of history" he always refers to: "You will always find what you are not looking for." It certainly turned out that way in his own case. For the veteran republican, who was the second Sinn Fein lord mayor of Belfast, discovered that his grandfather from his mother's side, David Nelson, was a Presbyterian. I don’t doubt it. Hartley’s combination of self-belief, experience and sound business acumen should get him through even this steadily tumultuous economic storm.There was a tremendous emphasis on the importance of education," he says. The fact chimes deeply with Hartley, who left school at 15 without qualifications to take up a job as a messenger and who for a long time felt a gap in his own education. So what does the man who has the most amazing key box in the world drive? “I’ve got a diesel Volkswagen Golf,” is the answer. “It’s a great little car. I do of course drive lots of supercars, but the reason I drive the Golf is that I don’t want to lose the special feeling that you get when you drive a supercar. I don’t want to become blasé about them. I need to feel what the customers feels.”

I now need the time and space to reflect on matters before deciding which direction I wish to take in seeking justice for the suffering heaped on me.’ By his own admission, Hartley isn’t a petrolhead, even though his knowledge is certainly prodigious. For a chat with a proper enthusiast, you need to buttonhole Carl. The problem,” he explains, “is that, as a brand, it simply isn’t on the same level as Porsche or Ferrari. Selling a million-pound-plus Lotus isn’t going to be an easy job.”Now the sheet of glass is covered by the P1. There’s a Bugatti Veyron next to it, several more Lamborghinis and, on the other side of the showroom, a Porsche 918 Spyder and Carrera GT.