Billionaire David Hoffmann’s firm buys Napa–Sonoma chauffeur company Pure Luxury

Pure Luxury Transportation, a 34-year-old operator of winery tours and other chauffeur services in Napa and Sonoma counties, along with San Francisco, has been sold to the Florida investment company of one of the world’s wealthiest people.

The Hoffmann Family of Companies, a Naples, Florida-based private-equity firm started by billionaire David Hoffman, announced it purchased the Petaluma company for an undisclosed price.

Pure Luxury currently has a fleet of over 90 vehicles, including sedans, SUVs, Sprinter limousine and executive vans, 22-passenger minibuses and 56-passenger motor coaches.

"Joining forces with the Hoffmann Family of Companies represents an exciting chapter for Pure Luxury,” said Jennifer Buffo, CEO of Pure Luxury Transportation, in the news release. “We look forward to leveraging their expertise and resources to enhance our offerings and elevate the luxury transportation experience for our valued clients."

She retains a share of Pure Luxury and remains CEO, a role she plans to hold for “many years to come,” she told the Journal on Thursday. The same employees remain in place.

“Nothing is changing here with the team or our day to day,” she said. “We just now have an amazing partner backing us.”

Gary Buffo started the company with one vehicle in 1991, and a year later he met Jennifer, who started in the accounting department, according to a 2019 story in trade magazine Chauffeur Driven.

Pure Luxury grew to 26 vehicles by 2001, when the 9/11 attacks led to an 85% drop in business and near insolvency by 2005, and then the Great Recession hit the banking industry that also was a significant market, the Buffos told the publication.

They rebuilt the business to around 200 vehicles, adding a Napa operations hub and acquiring a San Francisco company, the Business Journal has reported over the past decade. Then in early 2020, cancellations related to the pandemic led to a 35% drop in business by March as travelers to California Wine Country canceled trips, the Journal reported.

Gary Buffo is no longer involved with the company, Jennifer Buffo told the Journal.

The Hoffmann group has more than 200 brands and companies with over 9,000 employees in nearly a dozen industries, including several existing ground-transportation companies in Missouri and Florida. David Hoffmann came to his wealth, estimated by Forbes at $1.6 billion, with the 1989 founding of executive-search firm DHR Global.

His investment company has acquired multiple wineries and over 1,000 acres of vineyards in Missouri, with a goal of upscaling the industry there.

Jeff Quackenbush covers wine, construction and real estate. Reach him at jquackenbush@busjrnl.com or 707-521-4256.

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Update, May 2, 2024, 9 p.m.: Jennifer Buffo provided details on her ongoing role with the company and Gary Buffo’s role with the company.

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