They staged 21 auctions in London between January and June which totalled £5.19m with an average selling rate by lot of 76 per cent. The total was up from £3.58m for the first six months of 2006 and was a half-year record.
The Maddox Street auctioneers raised £550,000 in private treaty sales, and their saleroom in Rome which opened in December last year contributed a further €1.63m (£1.1m).
“Our frequent schedule of sales means that customers do not have to wait long before items are offered for sale,” said managing director Rupert Powell. “The results in London and Rome mean that we can look forward with great confidence to our fledgling New York operation achieving the targets we are aiming for.”
The new saleroom in New York’s 48th Street will be officially opened with a party for the press and trade on September 24, followed by a collectors’ evening the following day.
The first sale will then be held on September 26, an auction of books including the library of the American couple Pamela and Richard M. Estes.
Bloomsbury boost ahead of New York launch date
AS Bloomsbury Auctions get set for the opening of their new saleroom in New York this month, their turnover for the first six months of 2007 showed a 45 per cent increase on the same period last year.
