Nothing seems to be stopping Bonhams’ expansion. The British auction operator, which has belonged to the Epiris fund since 2018, has just announced the purchase of the French auction house Cornette de Saint Cyr, launched in 1973 by Pierre Cornette de Saint Cyr. Renamed “Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr”, it remains managed by Arnaud Cornette de Saint Cyr, the son of the founder. “We wanted a reputable house, a brand known in France and Belgium, which, at the same time, is part of the dynamic of online sales”explains Bruno Vinciguerra, executive chairman of Bonhams.
In the spring, already, the latter had bought his Swedish counterpart Bukowskis, then Skinner, in Boston, and, finally, Bruun Rasmussen, in Denmark. In April 2021, Bonhams also took over The Market, an online marketplace specializing in collector cars. All these spoils of war have in common a very strong local anchorage and a positioning on the segment of “intermediate” objects, with a value of 1,000 to 1 million euros. The very one Bonhams has made a specialty of.
All-round deployment
With a turnover of around 800 million dollars (756 million euros) in 2021, it does not compete in the heavyweight category Sotheby’s and Christie’s, which compete for millionaire trophies and prestigious sales. Its intervention segment, however, represents 45% of global transactions and generates juicier margins than the pharaonic collections that are making the buzz. Instead of focusing only on promising categories, such as design and contemporary art, Bonhams is deploying all over the place, including in “memorabilia”: in 2021, it sold Billy’s Colt for $6 million. the Kid.
This diversity allowed him to expand his troops in London, New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Sidney, and, above all, to set up in Paris. In 2021, Bonhams took up residence on rue de la Paix, where it organised, for the first time, 19 sales for a total of 22 million euros. This is very modest compared to the top three Parisian auction houses, or independent houses like Aguttes or Millon. But, in one year, it has tripled its Parisian teams. With the idea of making the capital the European center of the group. “Europe will be the company’s biggest growth area in 2022, with huge momentum in France”anticipates Bruno Vinciguerra.
The hexagonal ambitions of Bonhams do not seem, for the time being, to worry local operators too much. Maximilien Aguttes sees a “very positive indicator of the Paris market”. “French sellers who could entrust them with objects are already well served with existing quality auction houses, sweeps away, for his part, Alexandre Millon. It will take time for them to gain legitimacy and compete with us. »