Christie's re-enters the collector car business with Gooding&Company

The announcement of the purchase of the Californian auction house Gooding&Co by Christie's did not come as a surprise to those in the industry, who had been expecting the British company to return to the classic car sector for almost a decade, having unexpectedly abandoned it in 2007, partly as a result of a misstep regarding the historical originality of a racing car that was put up for sale. David Gooding had already left Christie's in 2003 to found his own creature, which has grown to become one of the leaders in the sector.

Already in 2015, historical rival Sotheby's, after several years of collaboration with Canadian RM Auctions, had decided to acquire it, becoming the industry leader with the RMSotheby's brand, and thus benefiting from the strong market growth of the last decade.

According to data from Adolfo Orsi's Classic Car Auction Yearbook, in the year between 2007-2008 the market at auction was worth $465 million, almost doubled in 2012-13 to $820 million to exceed $1 billion the following year and $2 billion last year 2022-23.

But the results coming out of the last crucial August auction rounds in Monterey suggest a definite slowdown in the market, especially in the sectors most related to speculation on recently produced sports cars, and the generational change of buyers.

According to k500 of dealer Simon Kidston, the combined revenues of the four international auction houses present in California in mid-August were just over $330 million compared to $363 million a year earlier, including $104 million in revenues for Gooding&Co and $154 million for RMSotheby's, with newcomer Broad Arrow, from 2022 part of the Hagerty insurance group, distant third at $61 million, and historic Bonhams reduced to $11 million from the previous year's $55 million in which it sold its most expensive car.