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Acker launches ‘In Bond, in London’ initiative
US wine auctioneer Acker has launched a new service called ‘In Bond, In London’, which will allow clients to store wines in tax warehouses in the UK.
The news was announced at the same time as a sale taking place on 7 September in New York, which includes the collection of a UK consignor dubbed ‘The Mayfair Man’.
In essence the initiative means that wines consigned from the UK in future can be kept in tax-free facilities there until their new owner chooses to either bring them out of bond and ship them or indeed sell them on again.
Therefore, although the lots from the ‘Mayfair Man’ will be sold in New York, Acker explained that: “Wines purchased from this collection may remain in bonded storage in London via Acker’s new service to assist clients with facilitating bonded storage.
“The wines may also be temperature-control shipped anywhere in the world including the major wine hubs of Hong Kong and New York at favourable rates, including free to New York for all New York auctions.”
The auctioneer has a well-established presence in both New York and Hong Kong but this is the first time it has offered a service in the fine wine world’s third major hub; London.
It seems likely that Acker is hoping to encourage more British collectors and others who store their wines in the UK to consign to its sales but also to draw buyers on the look out for unimpeachable provenance; as the UK is a popular and trusted place from which to source fine wines by many European and in particular Asian collectors.
Acker meanwhile predicts that its autumn sales season could realise as much as US$50 million. Fine wine auctioneers have been reporting extremely positive results in the first half of the year which could push the global auction scene for fine wine to new heights.
Its not exactly rocket science. I wouldnt want to send my entire collection to the US or HK just because I have chosen a particualr aution house jurisdiction because I believe it may have a stronger market or achieve higher prices. The bonded system in the UK and certain parts of Europe gives collectors confidence that the wines have not been stored anywhere other than under impeccable conditions all their life in the UK or under European bonded conditions. The same cannot be said for wines in the US and Asia of which UK traders largely will not buy back due to them being too well travellelled, of questionable provenance and the addition of slip labels in some instances. Wines stored under bond in the UK/Europe also largely eradicate the possibility of counterfeiting, as its extremely difficult to get counterfeit wines landed in bond once they have been in general circulation, giving possible onward buyers future confidence as to where the stock has been all its life.