2026년 2월 13일 · Unknown · financial · 출처 Uk
Founder Harry Thorne's grandfather paved the way for a career in graded gold coins.
Harry Thorne used to receive a gold coin from his grandfather on every birthday. He now fronts a company, as founder and CEO of the Bullion Club, which trades them and is educating an ever-growing number of beginner collectors in gold.
Thorne’s grandfather also once gave him a £1,000 cheque which he put all in on cryptocurrency and lost – an investment which taught him a valuable lesson. “[Crypto] can be so manipulated,” he says. “Gold is a standalone market and you get it for face value. It's not as risky as bitcoin, which is up and down like a yoyo, whereby gold has some sort of stability to it and shows some outrageous returns.”
The price of gold has gone on a wild journey already in 2026 and Thorne has felt the effects on his business.
Read More: 'Going to university and getting a job is now a risky route – starting a business isn't'
Surrey-based Bullion Club, a boutique firm specialising in independently graded British gold coins such as sovereigns and britannias, has seen turnover jump from just under £1m in 2024 to nearly £4m in 2025.
Thorne says that his clients are looking for tax-efficient ways to diversify their money alongside more traditional investments like ISAs and premium bonds.
Bullion Club clients are building portfolios from an average starting investment of £5,000, although this can be lower, and choose from Royal Mint collectibles with limited runs.Bullion Club clients are building portfolios from around £5,000, choosing highly collectible Royal Mint issues.
The Royal Mint coins, which are produced in south Wales, are graded, legal tender which means that clients are typically exempt from capital gains tax.
“Because the Royal Mint is so heavily subsidised by the government, I think that loophole will always be in place as it does really keep the Royal Mint afloat,” says Thorne.
December and January are usually quiet business months for Thorne but the Bullion Club is catching up on leads, with potential clients wanting to diversify as part of inheritance and retirement plans. Having a tangible asset to touch, keep at home or store in a vault has also been a key selling point.
“Since Labour got in and things heating up with Venezuela and Trump, everything is manic and people are turning to gold,” admits Thorne.
After we spoke last month, gold reached a record high above $5,500 an ounce, before its sharpest one-day drop since 1983. The initial surge had taken its gains to almost 30% this year alone.Bullion Club's Harry Thorne has gone from car salesman to fronting his boutique gold coin firm.
On the collector’s side, Thorne says that a 1 oz 2016 Lion of England coin from the Royal Mint's Queen's Beast series touched £5,000 from a spot price of £1,400.
Thorne, 30, says the Bullion Club is a “niche” company compared to the London corporate firms who sell supplying the same coin and heavily reliant on the spot price. “We aren’t pushy and not like a lot of companies who say ‘gold is going up, you have to buy now’,” adds Thorne.
Story Continues
To earn trust, Epsom-based firm employs an open door policy while Thorne recalls driving to Wales to see a soon-to-be client on an eight-hour round trip when he first started out. “You want my business because another company would just Zoom call me,” the client told Thorne.
Read More: 'Omaze wouldn't be here today if I hadn't flatlined for over four minutes'
The Bullion Club founder has learned hard graft since he became a car salesman for seven years after leaving school.
When he was 21, Thorne sold his grandfather’s coins and invested them, using the subsequent £16,000 on a deposit for a flat in Epsom. “He used to frame tax discs on the wall, he had folders of stamps, Hornby trains and was into his coins,” recalls Thorne.
“He loved the collecting side and saw the route of coins and what it could do for the family. He told me to hold onto them and it wasn’t until I sold them that I realised the investment.”Surrey-based Bullion Club specialises in independently graded British gold coins, such as sovereigns and britannias.
In 2022, he moved to a sales role trading gold in Hatton Garden as he knew one of the directors. They flipped the business in what is today the Bullion Club and Thorne eventually took sole ownership thanks to a helpful uncle who funded the investment.
“I was thrown into the deep end as I had never managed someone in my life,” says Thorne, who now has 11 full-time staff.
“I never gave up and persistence has been key for me. I had a Vauxhall Corsa on finance with no air con and drove to Wolverhampton for a £5,000 deal. I was putting in the hours but kept on going.”
Read More: 'Our women's hiking trousers saved our business – we've sold over 50,000'
It has been a whirlwind journey for the Bullion Club, which makes its money bulk buying stock from multiple supplies and making margins on the front end and buying back from clients.
Thorne now aims to invest into the business and target £8m revenues for 2026.
“Because gold has such a track history, it can keep going," he says. “The thing that I love the most is not selling people the coins, it’s selling them out and looking at what we've achieved together over such a period. That’s the buzz.”
CEO Says: Harry Thorne on...
Investing in gold coins
If I wanted to sell and gold was in a dip, I know I just have to wait four or so months and it will go back up. It reaches an all time high, people sell out, it dips and it goes back up again. You can’t predict the future and we don’t know where gold will go, but If you don’t sell on a dip you should be okay.
Why gold is proving popular
People want to feel secure about their future and certain about the legacy they’ll leave for their loved ones after they’re gone. Gold has been used throughout history to preserve wealth, and continues to be a popular choice.
Read more:
'Failure is part of the process – you have to u…