Jaguar Land Rover has bought the entire James Hull collection, the largest privately held collection of British cars in the world, for an undisclosed sum.

Cosmetic dentistry pioneer Hull, who has been plagued by health problems in recent years, announced his intention to sell the 543 cars, plus mass of pedal cars and memorabilia, a couple of months ago, but stressed he wanted it to stay together and in Britain.

Announcing the sale, he said: "It's a wonderful day for me personally, knowing the collection is going to a good home; and I think it’s a great day for British motoring, with JLR, an iconic British brand, and my preferred bidder, taking responsibility for preserving and protecting a part of the UK’s fantastic engineering and manufacturing heritage. Indeed, my collection is going home.”

Some 130 cars in the collection are Jaguars, including a rare aluminium-bodied XK120, but it covers the entire spectrum of British motor manufacture.

John Edwards, Managing Director of Jaguar's newly formed Special Vehicle Operations added: “We share the same objective as James, to keep this unique collection in British hands, and we are delighted this agreement secures their custody for the future. We look forward to continuing to work with James going forward as we develop our heritage activities."

For the full story on the collection and an exclusive interview with James Hull, see the August 2014 issue of C&SC.