What we've been up to

For all media enquiries please contact:

2010
January
15

Press Centre

Press Release

Popularity of live online auctions in arts and antiques surges in 2009, revenues up by 55 per cent - Bargain hunters and savvy investors boost the-saleroom.com bidder numbers by 120 per cent

London, 15 January 2010

The-saleroom.com, the UK's leading live online bidding site, recorded a 120 per cent year-on-year increase in bidder numbers in 2009, revealing growing buyer confidence in purchasing art and antiques online. In a year when recession and credit issues dominated the headlines, the-saleroom.com bucked the trend with revenues generated by the site increasing by 55 per cent year-on-year. The-saleroom.com is owned by ATG Media and backed by Matrix Private Equity Partners.

With 90 per cent of the UK market and a growing international presence, thesaleroom. com appears to have a winning formula. The value of lots sold on the site has also grown by 87 per cent with the highest price paid online for a single lot sold being £88,000 for a collection of war medals. 49 per cent more sales were connected up to ATG Media's live bidding platform in 2009 and the percentage of lots sold over the internet increased from 9 to 15 per cent.

The-saleroom.com has succeeded in building a world-class live antiques bidding platform by leveraging its unique mix of superior proprietary technology, expertise, contacts and insight in the art and antiques market, and a team of nimble dedicated developers and operators. The site has attracted auctioneers all over the world, with sales in China, New York, Rome and Paris coming online through the platform in the last 12 months.

Anne Somers, Chief Executive of ATG Media, commented:

"We have always been at the forefront of the Antiques industry, breaking the news and pushing the industry to grow and innovate. The-saleroom.com opens up the world of Antiques to a much larger population and is a fast, simple, reliable way of purchasing something timeless and valuable. As peoples' lives get busier, smart convenience is increasingly valued. We expect online live bidding to continue its rise in popularity throughout 2010 and beyond, and are delighted with these 2009 results."

View this press release as a PDF file

Notes to editors

ATG Media Ltd

ATG Media's core business is the weekly publication of the Antiques Trade Gazette - essential reading for anyone involved in the art and antiques business. For nearly 40 years, the newspaper has been an integral part of the auction community, bringing together buyers and sellers of art and antiques. In 2006, ATG Media expanded its range of services in line with changing industry needs by launching an online service, the-saleroom.com, where bidders can view hundreds of catalogues and participate in live auctions using live audio and video links. This proprietary interactive platform designed exclusively by the team at ATG Media also powers a second site, ibidder.com, an online auction site of non-antique items. ATG Media Ltd was created in October 2008 following a management buyout from DMGT.

the-saleroom.com

the-saleroom.com provides a complete range of online services for buyers and sellers of art and antiques at auction, including the UK's leading facility for live online bidding. The site publishes a wide range of catalogues for upcoming sales, giving full details of the sale contents and highlighting star lots in each catalogue. The majority of catalogues are heavily illustrated. Using a market leading proprietary technology platform, the-saleroom.com dominates the UK market in LIVE online auctioneering, with over 110,000 regular bidders now using the site. Thesaleroom.com is a wholly owned subsidiary of ATG Media.