High-end Scotch continues to languish at auction
The auction market for single malt Scotch has continued its downward trend in the three months to January 2025, according to the latest figures from Scottish financial advisory firm, Noble & Co, with overall volumes down 21% compared to the same period the previous year.
Meanwhile value sales fell even further, down 53% compared to the prior year, following the overall downward drift, which began in 2023 after a period of stability. Average prices had gone from £403 a bottle in 2023 to £277 in the second half of 2024.
The report noted the “seasonal uptick” in September and October, however the rolling 3-month average price had continued to decline since around May 2023 (and notably since November) “There are no signs of this stopping”, it added.
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Bottles at the higher end had suffered particularly. Those selling for over £1,000 now account for 40.4% of transactions, down from 62.2% a year ago, in part due to caution from high end collectors, it said, as well as “less supply as sophisticated collectors hold on to their bottles rather than realise current market prices”.
This is likely to a result in a “significant slowdown’ for brands that sell for above average prices. However, it noted that supply was declining faster than demand, a positve for the market as price could fall to levels that draw buyers back in.
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