Entertaining sponsors used to just be part of the job for racing drivers Chris Buncombe and Richard Williams. But they soon realised they could turn their talent for hosting into a business.
In 2008 they founded Halcyon Events, a luxury hospitality and events company which offered high net worth individuals the chance to see behind the scenes of Formula One using contacts they had built up in the industry.
“[Richard and I] both met when we were about 12 years old in karting,” says Mr Buncombe, a director of Halcyon. “Most of the drivers in the paddock, we all grew up together. That’s the sort of relationships that we have.”
Briton Mr Buncombe attended Silverstone, the home of British motorsport, when he was just two months old to support his father, who was also a racing driver.
He started with motorcross in 1990 before moving on to karting four years later, when he competed in the British Kart Championship as a teammate to Jenson Button. Karting was also where he met his future business partner, Mr Williams.
Mr Buncombe started racing in Endurance GT and Sportscar events, while Mr Williams became an insurance broker and continued to race alongside his day job in the Porsche Supercup and other races.
“With personal sponsorship at that level, partners were needing more than just branding on a car. It needed a level of corporate hospitality and a sort of event experience,” says Mr Buncombe.
They each had different sponsors and partners who they would take along to some grand prix events within Europe, using their contacts in the sport to get them behind the scenes.
But it was three or four years later when the British duo decided to make a business out of it.
“The feedback we were getting from some of our sponsors was ‘wow amazing, fantastic,’” says Mr Buncombe.
“We saw it as an opportunity really at the high end, targeting high net worth individuals and targeting small numbers of people for the unique experience at a grand prix.”
So they launched their London-based business in the 2009 season, targeting handfuls of guests at select races in the beginning. By the end of the year they ran a Jenson Button suite within the Paddock Club of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that was attended by 150 guests.
“It was the first time that the grand prix had gone to Abu Dhabi so we had a lot of interest from existing clients and from new clients wanting to attend Abu Dhabi, it being the new exciting race to visit and obviously it was well received there.”
Six years on, the company has 16 employees, an annual turnover of £4 million (Dh24.57m) with plans to double this within the next three years.
And the Abu Dhabi race remains in the top three for Halcyon, both in terms of attendance and client spending.
“We have had private clients, two people, who spent over €100,000 [Dh504,256] for the weekend [in Abu Dhabi] with us. That’s involving a private plane, helicopter, a suite in a hotel, an awful lot of attention to detail in terms of requirements and requests of what is needed in their room, not necessarily expensive things but just attention to detail,” says Mr Buncombe.
However, most of Halcyon’s clients go for the arguably more affordable option of attending the Jenson Button suite, which the company still runs each year in the Yas Viceroy at the cost of US$4,000 per ticket for the weekend.
That may seem expensive but it is still cheaper than Paddock Club, a VIP viewing area which can cost anything between $5,000 up to $10,000. The company is also one of a handful of distributors of Paddock Club tickets, which are in high demand for the Abu Dhabi race.
“The reason it gets to capacity is that it’s simply not big enough, whereas the new facilities Silverstone have built will accommodate an awful lot more people than they tend to get there [in Abu Dhbai].”
This year, when the Abu Dhabi race returns once again to be the last in the calendar, Halcyon also plans to charter a boat in the marina, in addition to working with returning clients.
“I enjoy the challenges that come with running a business,” says Mr Buncombe. “For sure my heart is within the sport or motorsport and that’s my passion. So, very much, the sporting element of Formula One is my first love, but I enjoy being able to provide experiences for my guests and being able to put programmes and packages together to suit,” he adds.
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
The five pillars of Islam
Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Final scores
18 under: Tyrrell Hatton (ENG)
- 14: Jason Scrivener (AUS)
-13: Rory McIlroy (NIR)
-12: Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP)
-11: David Lipsky (USA), Marc Warren (SCO)
-10: Tommy Fleetwood (ENG), Chris Paisley (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG), Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR)
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
The five pillars of Islam
BeIN Sports currently has the rights to show
- Champions League
- English Premier League
- Spanish Primera Liga
- Italian, French and Scottish leagues
- Wimbledon and other tennis majors
- Formula One
- Rugby Union - Six Nations and European Cups
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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