Respected auction house H&H have been tasked, along with executors, to ensure that the estate and will of Northamptonshire businessman Richard Colton is executed in line with his wishes to sell his treasured rare Ferraris and create an estimate legacy for the RNLI of more than £10 million.
Guy Rose, Legacy Manager at the RNLI said: We are deeply grateful and humbled by Mr Colton's generous gift and his decision to benefit the RNLI in this way. Six out of ten lifeboat launches are only made possible because of gifts left to us in Wills, so they are vital to saving lives at sea. Mr Colton's generosity will be felt most by our volunteer crews and the people whose lives they save".
Richard Colton was a Northamptonshire-based businessman who had a distinguished career in footwear distribution and who for 40 years collected sensational classic cars. Described by close friends as 'a shy and private man' he was somewhat nervous of the sea, which may have added to his great respect for the men and women who risk their lives daily around Britains coast.
Initial estimate place the combined value of the 1960 Ferrari 250 GT and 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 as potentially topping £10 million with money raise from that sale used to build a new lifeboat called Richard and Caroline Colton, named after Richard and his late wife.