Subdial has announced that renowned watch industry veteran, Stuart Hennell, has purchased a substantial minority interest in the company alongside Active Partners, the private equity firm who first invested in 2021 and which increased its investment in the Company as part of the transaction.
Stuart Hennell, Co-Founder and Ex-CEO of WatchFinder, has become an investor and advisor to Subdial. Having established the online pre-owned watch market through building WatchFinder, Stuart sees Subdial as combining watch expertise with data and technology to go one step further and deliver the next market-making platform.
Built for a new generation of watch collectors, Subdial makes trading easy, fair, and fun. Their in-house platform is home to a global network of collectors and uses data and technology to provide them with a full suite of tools to manage their collection, source rare pieces, buy / sell, and trade.
Launched in 2018 by Ross Crane and Christy Davis, Subdial was born from a genuine passion for watches and the desire to create a trustworthy, transparent and data-led marketplace for watch enthusiasts looking to trade and build their collections.
Subdial has increased its weekly watch drops by over 230% since 2021, now releasing around 100 watches a week. Testament to the strength of the business and its proposition, the company has seen continued growth over the last 24 months with turnover having quadrupled since the previous fundraise to a c.£30 million annualised run rate.
Subdial is a world-leader in watch market data with its data powering the Bloomberg-Subdial Watch Index which tracks the 50 highest traded models in the world, giving a pulse on the pre-owned watch market. Data is at the heart of everything Subdial does, informing live valuations and offers on users’
collections, enabling insurance and tracking auction results across the globe. Bloomberg leverages this
index to analyse the market dynamics of high-end timepieces, similar to how stock indexes are used
to track financial markets. The collaboration enhances the visibility of Subdial’s watch market data and positions it as a key player in the luxury watch trading industry
“In my opinion WatchFinder only scratched the surface of what’s possible in this market,” said Stuart Hennell.
“I believe that Subdial has massive potential and all the ingredients to surpass
WatchFinders achievements. The sky is the limit for Ross, Christy and their team”Stuart Hennell is the Co-Founder and Ex-CEO of Watchfinder
“I’ve been approached by many watch businesses, but I’ve not felt that any of them have had strong enough business fundamentals… until Subdial. I put Christy and Ross through a rigorous due diligence process, and I’m massively impressed with how they’ve combined a solid grasp of the fundamentals with a clear vision for where the market is heading.”
Stuart Hennell is the Co-Founder and Ex-CEO of Watchfinder
Subdial released its trading platform a year ago, an entirely bespoke platform built to make buying, selling and trading watches effortless and fun. Its features include:
- Manage your collection with live market valuations and watch insurance. Subdial has c. £250m worth of watches currently managed within its network.
- Shop from Subdial’s curated Weekly Drop, with c.100 of the most collectable and interesting
- watches released every Thursday at 11:00, always priced best on the market.
- Source from private collections by adding watch models to your wishlist and finding watches that
- aren’t on the public market but are being managed in collections on Subdial’s platform.
- Sell watches with fees as low as 6%+VAT for top Black Tier collectors.
- Cash out immediately or trade watches in for new pieces, Subdial provides liquidity to create a live market.
- Access market data that powers the Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index.
- Be part of the largest collector network for discovering and trading watches, and community events.
“WatchFinder created the preowned market as we know it, so we’re thrilled to have Stuart on board as we go a step further in creating the next generation trading platform. Having someone who’s built a successful business in this market will be invaluable as we continue to scale our operations.”
Christy Davis, Co-Founder
Pre-owned watch prices have come down since their pandemic-era surge, but the preowned market has never been more relevant. Buyers see preowned as a wider and more exciting source for collectable watches, and big brands now recognise its importance in creating a market for their products. The pre-owned market reached an estimated value of $22 billion in 2021, representing about 30% of the total luxury watch market. This trend has continued, with sales hitting $27 billion in 2022
Pre-owned is expected to reach $85 billion and surpass new sales by 2033. Key factors driving this growth include increasing demand for high-end brands like Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet, coupled with a boom in innovation with new independent watch brands producing ever-faster emerging trends and brand collaborations.
Younger generations, especially millennials and Gen Z, are also a factor in contributing to the market’s expansion, with many seeing watch collecting as an antidote to an increasingly digital world, and a relatively accessible way to have an active involvement in their financial investments, similar to crypto currency.
“This investment will support us as we continue to develop the platform and how we leverage our network of collectors and the data around them to make trading easier, more efficient, and more fun. Watch collecting has always been passion-led, but trading has been painful and filled with risks. We’re building a next generation trading platform for collectors that makes trading as fun as the watches themselves.”
Ross Crane, Co-Founder
Subdial plan to open a new physical Clubhouse in central London in early 2025.
ABOUT SUBDIAL
Subdial is the next generation trading platform for watch collectors, making trading watches as fun and joyful as the watches themselves. Founded in 2018 and based in East London, Subdial’s in-house platform enables its network of collectors to trade without layers of dealers and middlemen. Every watch is inspected and authenticated at Subdial’s in-house workshop, combining all the benefits of a dealer with fair prices and a transparent platform experience.
Subdial’s platform allows collectors and enthusiasts to manage their collection – from real-time price tracking to easy sign-up insurance – and to buy, sell or trade at the click of a button. Subdial’s user tiers allow enthusiasts to access better and better trading rates, as low as 6% for the highest Black Tier users.
The weekly watch drop offers the widest range of interesting and collectable watches every Thursday, all
sourced directly from Subdial’s collector network. Members can source off-the-market watches and sell into the biggest network of collectors in the UK. Simple, human, and exciting. It’s how trading watches should feel.
