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Whisky
auction sales exceed 100,000 bottles
with a value of over £40 Million but due
to Brexit 2019 is very difficult to
predict.
Whisky auction sales are showing no
signs of letting up according to the
figures released today by whisky
analyst, broker and investment experts
Rare Whisky 101. The figures show that
in 2018 the UK’s rare whisky auction
market has exceeded sales of more than
100,000 bottles of rare whisky with a
value of over £40 million in a single
year for the first time as global demand
accelerates.
According to the report, both the volume
and value of rare Scotch whisky sold at
auction increased by record amounts. The
£ value of collectable bottles of Single
Malt Scotch whisky sold at auction in
the UK rose by 62.70% to a record £40.7m
(2017 £25.06m). The number of bottles of
Single Malt Scotch whisky sold at
auction in the UK increased by 28.88% to
107,890 (2017 83,713).
The average per-bottle price rose 26.24%
to a new record £377.91, up from 2017’s
£299.36.The number of bottles sold in
the UK for a hammer price of £10,000 or
more rose by 191% from 91 in 2017 to 265
in 2018.
2018 was also notable for being the year
when £1mllion was paid for a single
bottle of Scotch whisky, a world record
for a 1926 60 year old Macallan, and a
huge increase on 2017’s most expensive
bottle which sold for £95,000
RW101’s leading index for rare whisky,
the Apex 1000 Index, which tracks the
best performing 1000 bottles of rare
whisky, closed the year up 30.01%, once
again outperforming the Liv-Ex Fine Wine 1000
(10.00%), FTSE 100 (-12.48%), Brent
Crude (-19.50%) and Gold (-2.14%).
Andy Simpson, director and co-founder of
Rare Whisky 101 said:
"The secondary market for rare whisky
continues to outperform our
expectations. With the average bottle
price increasing by around 15% from the
half-year stage to year-end, we saw a
rapid acceleration of activity within
the last few months of the year. In fact
more than £15.5m of value was sold in
the final quarter of 2018, more than
double 2014’s full year performance of
£7.64M. The value increase, in
particular, is due in part to the two
record breaking 1926 Macallan bottles
selling in December. While these two
bottles were among the stand-out items
for sale, they were by no means the
exception. Across the board, we’re
seeing an increased number of valuable
bottles selling for greater value than
ever before resulting in phenomenal
growth within the market for over £1,000
bottles."
Commenting on the future prospects of
the rare whisky market, co-founder of
Rare Whisky 101, David Robertson said:
"While demand for rare and vintage
whisky shows no signs of slowing, the
fundamentals of investing in the rare
whisky market remains strong. The UK
auction market remains the biggest and
most active market worldwide, and
there’s nothing to suggest that will
change. As consumption continues to
increase, driven by connoisseurs,
collectors and investors, the stocks of
rare whisky will continue to diminish,
creating the ideal conditions for
escalating hammer prices. However, with
the uncertainty of Brexit hanging over
us, it is extremely difficult to second
guess what will happen with cross border
trade and access to bottles. From both a
volume and value perspective, 2019 is
very difficult to predict!"
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