Christie’s has long been a purveyor of the finer things in life, and they can now add classic automobiles to the roster of luxury items they offer under their brand. Christie's announced on 12 September that it will acquire classic automobile auction house Gooding & Company, with the transaction expected to be completed by the end of the year and the brand renamed Gooding Christie's. 
 

This is not Christie's first foray into the world of car auctioning. Christie's operated a car auctioning department for 35 years but has lacked one since 2007. Christie's purchase of Gooding & Company marks a return to the market following an absence of 17 years and is drawing attention from industry experts. 

The London-based auction house has described the acquisition as a “significant milestone for Christie’s, establishing its position in the rapidly expanding classic and collector car market and further solidifying its leadership in the broader luxury sector.” Christie’s describes their new relationship with Gooding & Company as an “ideal match.” This is more than true, given that Gooding & Company’s President David Gooding once worked for Christie’s, bringing his journey in the industry full circle. 

Christie's original car department operated between 1972 and 2007, and did well for its time, being the official auction house of Pebble Beach, one of the world’s major car auctioneering events alongside Goodwood.

The department even set the auction record for the most expensive car when, in 1987, they sold a Bugatti Royale Kellner Coupe for £5.5 million in the Royal Albert Hall itself. However, as it entered the 21st century, Christie’s was losing steam to competitors: RM, Bonhams, Coy, and even Golding & Company.

The “death knell” for Christie’s Car Department was in September 2007 at their Pebble Beach auction, where they only earned US$8.2 million, while Gooding & Company, who was only four years old at the time, earned US$64.2 million. Christie’s shuttered that department later that year.

This is not to say that Christie’s hasn’t been selling cars in the meantime, but they’ve been doing so as part of other wider collections. Take, for example, the February 2024 sale of a 1990 Bentley Continental Two-Door Convertible, which sold for US$441,000, that had been part of a larger sale of Elton John’s collection. Thus, their acquisition of Gooding & Company marks a return to the car market.

As for Gooding & Company, their upside in the deal is that they get to access Christie’s global network of infrastructure and operations, allowing for increased brand growth, especially in growing luxury markets like Asia. It also, rather poetically, brings co-founder David Gooding’s career full circle. 

David Gooding began his career in car auctioning with Christie’s in around 1989, staying for 11 years. Christie’s, at the time, was the official auction house of Pebble Beach. Gooding eventually became the Global Head of International Motor Cars before briefly joining Canadian car auction house RM, now RM Sotheby’s, for three-and-a-half years. In 2003, he and his wife Dawn founded Gooding & Company, which has been going strong for the last 21 years.

In his time away from Christie’s Gooding, has grown Gooding & Company into a luxury car powerhouse. For 20 years, Gooding & Company has been the official auction house of Pebble Beach. The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is the official name of the event, and it comes from the French for "competition of elegance," where prestigious vehicles are displayed. Other annual car auctions include the Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace and Amelia Island Concours Week.

Under David Gooding’s leadership, his auction house has also captured the higher end of the car auctioning market. While Gooding & Company can’t compete with, for example, Mecum Auctions in terms of volume, Mecum typically averages US$165,000 per car sold, while Gooding & Company averages US$715,000 per vehicle.

The company has also made a few records, including the most expensive private car sale, with them brokering a deal to sell a Ferrari 250 GTO for allegedly US$70 million. They also hold the record for the most expensive American car ever sold at auction, a 1935 Duesenberg SSJ previously owned by actor Gary Cooper, which sold for US$22 million. This is along with 11 other marque records for individual cars, including those from Ferrari, McLaren, Porsche, and Bugatti.

For those who follow car auction news, this deal seems strikingly similar to the deal that saw Sotheby’s acquire RM. That deal began in 2015 with Sotheby’s acquiring a 25% stake in the Canadian car auctioneer, with the option to acquire more shares. That acquisition allowed RM Sotheby’s to become one of the largest car auction houses in the world, with the top three most expensive cars sold at auction being sold by them.

Christie’s deal with Gooding & Company will also see the latter’s name change to Gooding Christe’s, not dissimilar to the RM’s deal. However, unlike RM’s deal, this seems to be an outright acquisition of Gooding & Company by Christie’s. The language in the press release states that Christie’s “has entered into an agreement to acquire Gooding & Company” without implying or mentioning any shares. Christie’s CEO, Guillaume Cerutti, mentioned that the deal was Christie’s biggest in two decades.

This will make Gooding & Company a subsidiary of Christie's, with their press release suggesting that David Gooding will remain as president, and the structure and team behind Gooding & Company staying the same.

This move is seen as long overdue by analysts, who consider the market oversaturated with cars and auction houses, claiming that consolidation is necessary. Even rival CEO and Chairman of RM Sotheby’s Rob Myers stated, “This is great news... There’s certainly enough room in the market for both of us. Having other players at the top of their game fosters healthy competition and raises the standard across the industry.”