Richard Hammond continues to run UK car company which was 'in debt'
Richard Hammond (Image: Contributed)
Former Top Gear star Richard Hammond is continuing to run a classic car restoration company which has been struggling financially.
He is the founder of The Smallest Cog, a Hereford-based garage where classic cars are restored to their former glory.
Work at the garage on the Rotherwas industrial estate has been the subject of a Discovery + TV show called Richard Hammond's workshop.
The presenter, who started his professional broadcasting career at BBC Radio York in the late 1980s, went on to work with Jeremy Clarkson and James May on the BBC’s Top Gear and, latterly, Prime Video’s The Grand Tour for 22 years before calling time in 2024.
Earlier this year, it emerged that the car workshop was at one point struggling under debts of about £700,000, according to The Sun newspaper.
Mr Hammond reportedly injected nearly £600,000 of his own money into the garage venture, where the team chrome-plated Jeremy Clarkson’s vintage tractor. It now hangs in his Cotswolds pub, The Farmer’s Dog, in Asthall, near Burford.
After company assets were factored in, including £50,000 held in cash, the business remains about £550,000 in the red, according to the article in February.
Mr Hammond was in Oxfordshire last summer when he visited Woodstock for Salon Privé, which was hosted at Blenheim Palace.
It has now been announced that the 56-year-old will return for this year's event, with guests having the opportunity to meet Richard during multiple bottle signing sessions.
Mr Hammond will also take part in an exclusive Q&A session at the event, which runs from September 2 to September 6.
TV star Richard Hammond
(Image: Ian West/PA)
He said: "Salon Privé is one of my favourite events to attend.
"The cars are extraordinary, the setting at Blenheim Palace is hard to beat, and it's full of people who genuinely love motoring.
“I had a fantastic time last year, so I'm obviously delighted to be coming back for Salon Privé's 21st year."
The Smallest Cog said in a statement: "Many things are changing in the car world. But not everything… Classics are still classics and always shall be.
"And some of the classic skills we use to restore, preserve and protect them haven’t changed either, though we’re not afraid to harness new technology and techniques if they offer a path to a better finish and a longer life for the car you care about.
"Whether it’s a priceless time capsule, a unique insight into the social and aesthetic mores of its day or just the car that first took you to school, a classic is a classic in the eyes of its owner and we respect that. We are as at home at our local car show as we are on the hallowed concours lawns – although we do look daft in Panama hats – and understand that it’s what your car means to you that matters. And it’s your hopes and dreams for it that drive and steer us."
Earlier this month it emerged that Mr Hammond was fined £999 for speeding crimes at the end of 2025.
The TV star was at the wheel of a Porsche when he broke the speed limit on December 2 last year before he was caught out again just 20 days later while driving a Bentley.
West Mercia Police brought two prosecutions against Mr Hammond, putting forward the speed camera images of him driving the cars in Herefordshire to prove the offences.