UK Market for Antiques Suffers from Lack of Purchases by Wealthy Americans New Bond Street's Partridge Fine Arts announced it had slashed the value of its stock of Old Masters and 18th-century furniture by a third.
News-Antique.com - Nov 30,-0001 - Partridge Fine Arts is 73% owned by chairman John Partridge's family. In February the company put itself up for auction. Mr. Partridge commented: 'Are we up for sale? The answer is yes. I am 75 and I am not going to go on for ever.'
Having received a bid, the company has now run a detailed stock evaluation of its three floors of inventory and has concluded that it is not worth as much as previously thought.
In an interview with the Evening Standard Mr Partridge commented that "Given the tough market conditions currently being experienced and prevailing exchange rates, the board has concluded that a provision of £10.7m should be made in order to reduce stock value to the lower of cost or realisable value."
The weakness of the dollar and a lack of overseas visitors are blamed by the company as it devalued stock by £10.7m. Its shares fell almost 20 per cent.
About Partridge Fine Arts
Established at the turn of the century, Partridge Fine Arts PLC is one of the world's foremost dealers in antique fine and decorative arts, specialising in English and French 18th-century furniture, Old Master paintings, and English and continental silver.
In addition, Partridge Fine Arts has a wide selection of decorative objects including clocks and barometers, chandeliers and other lighting, and European and Oriental porcelain.
The company comprises three floors of galleries on New Bond Street in London and over 1,000 pieces of stock.
Over the last hundred years, Partridge Fine Arts has helped to create some of the finest private collections in the world, several of which are now in public museums including the Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight, Merseyside; the Burrell Collection, Glasgow; the Gilbert Collection, Somerset House, London; and the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, California.
In addition to private clients and dealers, Partridge Fine Arts also works closely with decorators and designers in both Europe and the US. Partridge counts prestigious institutions such as the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Los Angeles Museum of Art, and the National Museum of Scotland among its clientele.
The company was founded on the sale of the highest quality 18th-century English and French furniture and continues this tradition today. The experience and knowledge within the department is extensive. Stylistically, the 18th century in both France and England varies considerably, and Partridge’s stock reflects this broad range.
