How we helped

Auction Technology Group provides marketplaces and a proprietary auction platform for curated auctions, connecting bidders and auctioneers at scale across the Art & Antiques, Industrial & Commercial and Consumer sectors. The business operates in the UK, US and the DACH region with its leading marketplaces including Proxibid, BidSpotter, thesaleroom, i-bidder.com, and Lot-tissimo. ATG is at the forefront of the digital transformation of auction houses and the environmental benefits of a circular economy.

In 2021 ATG debuted on the London Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of £600m, reaching a £1bn market capitalisation by May 2021 and joining the FTSE 250.

Tech & data:

  • When ECI invested in ATG Media Group in 2014 it was a publishing-oriented business focused on arts and antiques. We supported its transition to become a true technology business, including developing a tech-native leadership team with new hires from Paypal, Matches Fashion and Vodafone.
  • This included hiring a new CTO, increasing the scale of the tech team by 4x, and professionalising operational systems such as a new data warehouse and analytics platform.

Strategic acquisitions:

  • ATG has made four acquisitions during our investment period, significantly expanding product capability and geographic reach.
  • Following its IPO, ATG announced the acquisition of Live Auctioneers, the leading Art & Antiques marketplace in the US.

Internationalisation:

  • Those acquisitions helped the business to grow internationally, for example the acquisition of the central European Arts and Antiques online listings leader, Lot-tissimo, and the US provider of online auction services to auctioneers of industrial assets, Proxibid.

People & culture:

  • We invested significantly into the senior leadership team during our investment, including bringing together the team who have led the recent IPO. This enabled the business to invest in a market leading tech platform, tackle an international M&A strategy and ultimately deliver on its IPO.