Phillips, formerly known as Phillips the Auctioneers (briefly as Phillips de Pury), is a British auction house. It was founded in London in 1796, and has head offices in London and in New York City. It was owned by the Mercury Group, a Russian luxury goods company.

History

Phillips was founded in 1796 by Harry Phillips, who had been a clerk to James Christie. The business held twelve auctions in its first year and soon became successful.

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

and Beau Brummel were among the early patrons. Harry Phillips died in 1840, and the business passed to his son William Augustus, who renamed it Phillips & Son; when his son-in-law Frederick Neale joined in 1882, the company became Phillips, Son & Neale. It was renamed Phillips in the 1970s; it was usually referred to as Phillips, the Auctioneers. In 1999 a majority stake in the company was sold to venture capitalists 3i, who resold it shortly after for a considerable profit. The company was bought in 1999 by

Bernard Arnault Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault (; born 5 March 1949) is a French business magnate, investor, and art collector. He is the co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE, the world's largest luxury ...

of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton. After a series of disastrous sales and extremely heavy losses

Bonhams Bonhams is a privately owned international auction house and one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. It was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. This brought to ...

bought the UK operations of Phillips in 2001 and merged them into the

name. Most of the rump of the business was closed; some smaller departments were acquired by Simon de Pury and

Daniella Luxembourg Daniella Luxembourg (Israel, 1950) is an Israeli art dealer, based in London. Biography She was born in Israel, daughter of Holocaust survivors, and grew up in a suburb of Haifa. She discovered art through literature and reading. She worked for ...

, who traded under the name Phillips de Pury & Company. In 2002 Simon de Pury acquired majority control of the firm. The company opened its European headquarters in Howick Place, London, in early 2008."Phillips de Pury"
Discover Victoria. On 6 October 2008, the company was purchased by the Russian Mercury Group, which paid approximately $60 million for it. Simon De Pury sold his remaining shares to Mercury in late 2012, and left the company. The name was changed back to Phillips.

References

{{Authority control London auction houses Retail companies established in 1796 1796 establishments in England