Sotheby’s has posted a steep increase in annual losses as the world’s art market continues to struggle, compounding pressure on the auction house owned by billionaire Patrick Drahi.
Filings from parent company Bidfair Luxembourg show losses more than doubled to $248 million (£184 million) in 2024, compared with $106 million the previous year.
Revenues fell 18 per cent to $813 million as commission and fee income was hit by a marked decline in high-end collecting, reflecting weaker demand from wealthy buyers against a backdrop of global geopolitical uncertainty and trade tensions. The downturn has added to the challenges facing an industry already sensitive to fluctuations in confidence and liquidity among the ultra-wealthy.
Sotheby’s financial results were further dented by a sharp rise in severance costs, which rose to $29.2 million last year from $11.4 million in 2023. Despite the scale of the payouts, the company’s headcount dropped by just 24, leaving its global workforce at 2,218.
The auction house, founded in London in 1744 as a rare book dealer, now operates in 40 countries and has expanded beyond art and books into luxury categories including wine, jewellery and diamonds, as well as financial services that fund art acquisitions and provide loans against collections. Drahi, who acquired Sotheby’s in a £3.7 billion deal in 2019, has sought fresh capital for a turnaround strategy, striking a deal last year with Abu Dhabi’s ADQ sovereign wealth fund, which acquired a 24 per cent stake in return for a $1 billion investment.
While Drahi has become a prominent figure in the art world through his stewardship of Sotheby’s, the French-Israeli businessman remains best known for his telecoms empire Altice, built through a string of leveraged acquisitions. The scale of Sotheby’s losses underlines the challenge of reviving profitability in a market still recovering from pandemic disruption and shifting global wealth dynamics.