Sotheby’s and RM Auctions unite

Ferrari 250 LM Image Courtesy of Sotheby's

Sotheby’s has gone into a partnership with automobile auction house RM Auctions. The company will now be known as RM Sotheby’s. Previously the two companies have worked together on a series of automobile auctions, this union signifies Sotheby’s taking a 25% ownership of RM Auctions.

Sotheby’s see this as a long term investment influenced by the growth and demand for investment in quality automobiles. RM Auctions has been auctioning automobiles since 1976, this formation sees the companies united for all future auctions.

In November 2013 RM Auctions held the ‘Art of Automobile’ sale in partnership with Sotheby’s. In the run up to it, RM auctions described the sale as focussing “on the automobile as an art form”, it included 32 automobiles, two motorcycles and seven works of art.

The sale saw a 1964 Ferrari 250 LM by Carrozzeria Scaglietti sold for £14.3 million, the record auction price for this type of car. In the same sale 11 cars in total reached world record prices. The entire auction held at Sotheby’s New York headquarters, generated $63 million in just two hours. Rob Myers the founder of RM Auctions said “Working with Sotheby’s, we set out to create the finest automobile auction that there has ever been”.

RM Sotheby’s now looks forward to the next sale which will take place in March. The first sale of the union will be the annual Amelia Island auction in Florida, which has been running since 1999 and each year honours an industry personality. There are currently six other auctions planned for 2015 in a variety of locations around the world.

The partnership will increase competition between Sotheby’s and Bonhams, which currently holds the world record auction price for any motor car sold at auction, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO which sold at £24.6 million in 2014.