Auction Technology Group is a publishing business based in London. It publishes ''Antiques Trade Gazette'' which is a London-based weekly publication and website serving the art and

antique An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

s community. The print publication has around 16,000 subscribers (2015), though its publisher also derives substantial revenues from online auction sites such as ''the-saleroom.com''. It is listed on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

and is a constituent of the

FTSE 250 Index The FTSE 250 Index ( "Footsie") is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions and demotions to and from the index occur quarterly in March, June, Septemb ...

History

''Antiques Trade Gazette'' was founded in September 1971 in London by journalist Ivor Turnbull, previously diarist at the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' and editor of ''Art and Antiques Weekly''. It provided a calendar of art and antiques sales, and was initially resented by many antique dealers keen to protect their favourite country sales. However, it eventually became an essential tool of the trade - being described by the ''

Burlington Magazine ''The Burlington Magazine'' is a monthly publication that covers the fine and decorative arts of all periods. Established in 1903, it is the longest running art journal in the English language. It has been published by a charitable organisation sin ...

'' as the "acknowledged 'Bible' of the fine art and antiques industry". The Gazette's publisher, Metropress, was acquired by the

Daily Mail and General Trust Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) is a British multinational media company, the owner of the ''Daily Mail'' and several other titles. The 4th Viscount Rothermere is the chairman and controlling shareholder of the company. The head office is ...

in 1994. The company adapted to the internet, creating the-saleroom.com, before, in 2006, launching a live bidding platform, the latest step in its transition from print to an internet offering. In October 2008, when the business had 53 staff and a turnover of £6 million, it was the subject of a

management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena of 1 ...

backed by private equity house Matrix (today Mobeus Equity Partners). The deal also saw the company divest three US-based publications ''

AntiqueWeek AntiqueWeek is one of the most popular antiques newspapers in the United States and has been a source for weekly antiques and collectibles news in the United States since 1968. ''AntiqueWeek'' has a weekly circulation of over 70,000 readers. Th ...

'', ''AntiqueWest'' and ''Auction Exchange''. From 15 percent of sales at the time of the MBO in 2008, the-saleroom.com revenues accounted for 45 per cent of the business's £8.9 million turnover by 2012. The company offered its antique bidding platform to publishers in Germany and France, and invested in China’s live auction site, epai.hk. It also established a separate auction site, ibidder.com, focused on industrial equipment. Private equity firm

ECI Partners ECI Partners is a growth focused private equity group based in the UK and the US, first established by the Bank of England in 1976. ECI typically invests up to £100m of equity (as part of an initial transaction) in businesses valued at up to ...

invested in the business in 2014, by which time the website sold £68.3 million of art and antiques, while ibidder.com saw sales worth £39.4m, generating revenues of over £15 million. The company renamed itself from ATG Media to Auction Technology Group in November 2016.

TA Associates TA Associates, founded in 1968, is one of the early modern-era private equity firms in the United States. The firm leads buyouts and minority recapitalizations of profitable growth companies. TA invests across five industry groups: technology, hea ...

acquired the company from ECI Partners in February 2020. On 8 February 2021, the company, chaired by

Breon Corcoran Breon Thomas Corcoran (born July 1971) is an Irish businessman, and the CEO of WorldRemit and a non-executive director of Tilney (company), Tilney Investment Management Services and Bestinvest, both part of the Tilney Group. He was CEO of Flutt ...

, announced plans to float in the

through an

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

in March 2021.

Editors of ''Antiques Trade Gazette''

*Ivor Turnbull 1971-1994 (Turnbull died in November 1995, and was commemorated by the creation of the ''Antique Trade Gazettes Ivor Turnbull Memorial Prizes) *Mark Bridge 1994-2000 *Ivan Macquisten 2000-2015 *Noelle McElhatton 2015–2018

References

External links

{{FTSE 250 Index constituents 1971 establishments in the United Kingdom Antiques Magazines established in 1971 Magazines published in London Professional and trade magazines Weekly magazines published in the United Kingdom