The acquisition brings yet another firm into the stable of companies which includes stamps specialists Stanley Gibbons, numismatic specialists Baldwin's, art, antiques and books auctioneers Dreweatts & Bloomsbury and London dealers Mallett.
The purchase follows a two-year tie-up between Dreweatts & Bloomsbury and Bid for Wine with the two companies holding joint sales at the former's Maddox Street saleroom in London and the latter providing additional an online platform for the events.
The auctioneers say this joint venture has generated combined sales of around £2.5m to date and that turnover in this category turnover has grown by 25% year on year since they started working together.
Broader Bidding
Bid for Wine was founded in 2008 as an online-only marketplace for wines and spirits. Offering real-time auctions with a live webcast, they also have a monthly calendar of timed auctions sitting alongside a self-listing marketplace providing a lower cost model for buyers and sellers of wines. They are a UK business with a Singapore subsidiary.
Chief executive at Dreweatts Stephan Ludwig told ATG that the majority of Bid for Wine's business was in the UK but the platform is currently experiencing increasing bidding from the US, Singapore and Hong Kong.
In a joint statement Mr Ludwig and Lionel Nierop, co-founder of Bid for Wine, said they are aiming to "cement the progress to date and allow us to focus on bringing clients even more of the well sourced and high quality lots they have come to expect from Bid for Wine and Dreweatts sales".
The first auction since the acquisition on July 10 was led by a case of 12 bottles of Chateau Haut Brion 2010 Pessac Leognan that fetched £4500.
Online Expansion
The acquisition of Bid for Wine is part of the Stanley Gibbons Group's continued expansion in the online sphere. In the last year they have launched an online retail marketplace for stamps, coins, postcards, collectables and memorabilia, and have also assumed close ties with online-only firm The Auction Room after its founder George Bailey became the new chairman at Dreweatts & Bloomsbury.
