Phillips Auctioneers

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Phillips Auctioneers Limited
legal form Ltd.
founding 1796
Seat London , UK
management Edward Dolman, CEO
Number of employees 154
sales 22.72 million GBP
approx. 25.36 million EUR
Branch Art trade
Website www.phillips.com
As of December 31, 2017

Phillips Auctioneers (until 2013: Phillips de Pury & Company ) is an in London Canada based auction house specializing in Contemporary Art , Photography , Design of the 20th and 21st centuries, as well as jewelry . Phillips has offices in New York City , Berlin , Paris , Los Angeles , Milan , Moscow , Brussels , Buenos Aires and Geneva . The house's auctions are held in London, New York and Geneva. Phillips also offers private sales and advisory services, for example in building private art collections.

history

The auction house was founded in 1796 in London by the young entrepreneur Harry Phillips . Phillips had previously left Christie's after James Christie refused an increase in his salary. While still at "Christie's" he married Sarah Mitchell, with whom he had three children. His youngest son, William Augustus, would later continue to run the company.

Little is known about the origins of Harry Phillips , including where he got his good contacts with the aristocracy from. In the year he was founded, he managed to hold twelve auctions and win well-known Christie's customers for his company. In addition, he introduced new methods of customer loyalty in his house, including elaborate receptions on the evening before an auction - now an integral part of auctions. Thanks to his business acumen and skillful self-expression, Harry Phillips quickly won the trust of the British aristocracy, and entrepreneurial success was immediate. He quickly managed to hold auctions for outstanding personalities of his time, including Napoleon and Beau Brummel . When Harry Phillips died in 1840, he left a strong, prosperous company to his son William Augustus.

William changed the name of the house to "Messrs Phillips & Son" in 1879. As early as 1882, this again became "Phillips, Son & Neale" after William made his stepson Frederick a partner . This name was retained until the 1970s, when it eventually returned to the first and held auctions as "Phillips" under the ownership of Christopher Weston and Christopher Hawkings. In the following three decades, the company built a reputation as a training center for art experts and antique dealers. For many employees, Phillips was seen as a career springboard to later get a job at Christie's or Sotheby's , where a generally higher turnover was achieved and therefore there was a prospect of a more lucrative income. As a result, customers preferred to auction their most valuable pieces at Christie's and Sotheby's, as it was known that many of Phillips' best experts were already in those houses. Still, Phillips managed to build an excellent reputation , especially in the antiques sector , and to revitalize this market. In 1999, Christopher Weston sold his majority stake to holding company 3i , which made Phillips' business profitable and shortly thereafter sold their stake to LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton for a substantial profit . LVMH appointed art dealers Simon de Pury and Daniella Luxembourg to manage the company, after which the company was renamed Phillips, de Pury & Luxembourg.

After a series of losing deals, Simon de Pury took over the majority of the company's shares and narrowed the business model . The newly formed company Phillips de Pury & Company is now mainly active in the field of modern art and contemporary art. In October 2008 the company was bought by the Russian investor group Mercury, which is led by Leonid Friedland and Leonid Strunin. To purchase the bulk of the stock, Mercury had to raise an estimated $ 60 million. The realignment and specialization of the business area proved to be a success, the company has been operating profitably since then and is in constant growth.

Chairman Simone de Pury resigned on December 21, 2012. The company announced that it would change back to its previous name, Phillips , in January 2013 .

Management and advisory committee

executive Director

  • Michael McGinnis

Advisory Committee

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Group of companies' accounts made up to 31 December 2017 , at www.companieshouse.gov.uk , accessed on 21 June 2019
  2. ↑ http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/29406/mercury-rising/
  3. ↑ Press release of December 21, 2012