James Bruce - great grandson of the man who founded the auction firm in 1878 - has bought back Goodman’s 51.5 per cent stake in his company and plans to resume his role as a full-service auctioneer for South Australians, after devoting most of his energies in recent times to funnelling high end art to Goodman’s hungry Sydney and Melbourne salerooms.
“Now I won’t just be sitting at a desk waiting for the priciest pictures [to send interstate] but will be having a cup of tea with clients, and discussing how best to meet their needs and find a new home for all their goods”, he says.
It seems Bruce proposed the buyback while Goodman was in the throes of bedding down last year’s monumental takeover of Sotheby’s Australia.
The deal was a 10-year licensing agreement to use the Sotheby’s Australia name and its not inconsiderable cachet, an arrangement that reputedly cost Goodman $3 million. It meant Goodman had to dismantle his venture with the London-based auctioneer Bonhams which has seen him trading as Bonhams and Goodman in Sydney and Melbourne since 2003. Bonhams took a stake in Goodman’s business which he presumably has had to buy back, though he has denied that the latest move was aimed at raising money.
The arrangement with Bonhams allowed Goodman’s operations in three states to be co-branded, whereas those with Sotheby’s apparently do not. Which may be why Goodman was receptive to James’s buyout approach for the Adelaide firm.
The price Bruce paid for the stake has not been disclosed. “I would have like him to give it to me”, Bruce jokes. In the end it seems Goodman got his money back, but no more.
Similarly it’s not impossible Goodman may also want to find a buyer for the Leonard Joel operation in Melbourne which he acquired in 2008, otherwise he may find himself running both Sotheby’s and Joel’s in the one city, which scarcely seems logical.
Meanwhile Bruce will continue to be a representative for Goodman (a.k.a Sotheby’s). He says South Australia - home to very wealthy pastoral families such as the Barr Smiths and their descendants - is a very important market on a per capita basis. But any major Arthur Streeton oils that come in his doors will probably still end up under the Sotheby’s hammer in Sydney or Melbourne.
