Valuations, Appraisals and Professional Advisor Services

Partnering with a family office to build a legacy art collection

Client: An ultra-high-net-worth individual who recently sold their company and sought to diversify his wealth into art.

Challenge: In addition to creating a collection for personal enjoyment, the client and his wife wanted to build a separate collection for their children. There was also a need to consider long-term estate planning, legacy goals and future philanthropy.

Solution: Christie’s partnered closely with the family office to understand the broader vision for both the short- and long-term objectives. By bringing together expertise in art advisory, market trends, investment strategy and legacy planning, we were able to guide the client towards curating an exceptional and diverse collection, which seamlessly integrated with the family's broader asset portfolio strategy. With a clear vision for future sales and philanthropic efforts, the collection has become a tool for personal enjoyment, cultural enrichment and lasting impact.

This case highlights how Christie’s works hand in hand with family offices, combining their complimentary expertise, to provide tailored solutions that go beyond traditional art advisory, helping UHNWI clients navigate the complexities of building a collection that balances enjoyment, investment and legacy.

Long-term strategic advice to a UK heritage collection involving valuations, sales, conditional exemption and the Acceptance in Lieu scheme

Client: Beneficiaries of a significant UK heritage collection.

Challenge: Working with the client, executors, trustees and other professional advisors to navigate the challenges of a generational switch, the significant tax liabilities and need to capitalise an endowment to support the collection going forward.

Solution: The client did not have a full understanding of what objects or the value of what they had in their possession, and therefore the liabilities and opportunities. Over the course of around a decade, starting with a comprehensive valuation, we devised a programme of conditional exemption and tax valuations to maintain the core of the collection.

Investment was needed in areas of the estate and there was a desire to capitalise an endowment to support the collection. This was funded through a programme of sales which ranged from non-core masterpieces through to larger collection sales involving many different categories of objects across various sale channels. Due to the deferred inheritance tax on many of the sales, these liabilities were met through placing works of art in UK institutions through the Acceptance in Lieu (‘AIL’) scheme.

This case highlights how Christie’s works seamlessly with clients and professional advisors and has the team in place to advise over the long term, offer strategic tax planning, ensure the right channel is selected for each sale and ultimately to secure the collection for the future and enhance the visitor experience in the house.