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Epiris has sold Bonhams to Pemberton Asset Management, which has replaced the auction house’s senior executive leadership.
The sale comes following nearly three years on the market, as Epiris first aimed to offload the auction house in early 2023, for an asking price of up to $1 billion. It purchased the asset five years earlier for an undisclosed amount. Bonhams has not revealed how much it received for its sale to Pemberton.
Bonhams has also hired a new senior management team, which has a “proven track record of success in serving high-value customers in marketplaces and steering through periods of change,” Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard, chairman of the board at Bonhams, said Monday.
Seth Johnson, who was previously chief of IPGL, a venture capital firm that is the privately held family office British entrepreneur Michael Spencer established, will be of CEO. He replaces Chabi Nouri, who joined Bonhams in 2024. Meanwhile, Liese Thomas, former chief financial officer for McLaren Automotive, will take on that role for the auction house. Jennifer Babington will become chief operating officer, having served as operations director and general counsel for Envision Racing’s Formula E team.
“Bonhams has achieved significant growth and sustained profitability over recent years,” Hoejsgaard stated. “Despite a challenging market, Bonhams’ resilient performance relative to the wider sector has been supported by investments in technology, the expansion of our global footprint and being strategically positioned in the premium auction space and a leader in the mid-market. The partnership with Pemberton and new leadership team strengthens our market position and supports our long-term growth ambitions.”
Bonhams also owns smaller auction houses in America and Europe. It purchased US-based Skinner, Danish auctioneers Bruun Rasmussen, and Sweden’s Bukowskis in early 2022, before snapping up French auction house Cornette de Saint Cyr in July of that year.
Image: A Bonhams auction house in London. (Shutterstock)
