Christie’s: Contemporary art helps auction house sales surge
Sales at the London showroom of auction house Christie’s have started to make a recovery after suffering a slump in 2023, it has been revealed.
The group’s UK arm has posted sales of £919.4m for 2024, a rise of almost 12 per cent compared to 2023’s total.
Christie’s UK sales were slashed from £1.1bn in 2022 to £821.9m in the following 12 months.
New accounts filed with Companies House have revealed that sales of 20th and 21 century art helped boost Christie’s sales from £556.7m to £659.4m in 2024.
However, sales of Old Masters fell from £119.5m to £116.8m in the year.
As a result of the improved sales, Christie’s UK arm saw its turnover increase from £127.2m to £132.5m in 2024.
Its pre-tax profit also rose in the 12 months from £11.3m to £17.5m.
Christie’s battles ‘challenging environment’
Christie’s was founded in King Street, London, in 1766 by James Christie and now has salesrooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shanghai and Dubai.
The company is now owned by Groupe Artémis, the holding company of French billionaire businessman, François Pinault – the co-founder of luxury group Kering.
In a statement released towards the end of last year, the wider Christie’s group announced its global sales for 2024 were projected to be $5.7bn, a fall of six per cent.
Its auction sales were also set to be $4.2bn, a decrease of 16 per cent.
However, Christie’s private sales of $1.5bn were expected to be a 41 per cent increase.
At the time, chief executive Guillaume Cerutti said: “We are pleased to close 2024 on a positive note, with stronger momentum in our Fall season sales and the acquisition of Gooding & Co.
“Despite a challenging environment for the art market, this year has been a productive one for Christie’s. We look ahead to 2025 and beyond with confidence.”