Market confidence returning?
The entrance to the BADA Fair at the Dule of York Square, London.
Having just tentatively completed the BADA Fine Art & Antique Fair in London, we come away feeling that there may be a degree of truth in Mr Brown’s tales of “green shoots” returning to the British economy. Whilst attendance and interest in the fair was high, the magic sales were a slow to get off the mark. On the opening day we made some headway, however did find a slight reluctance in the decision making process by many visitors. It was though people wanted to make business and do deals, but yet there was a mysterious force keeping their hands away from cheque books and wallets.
As the days progresses, the initial reluctance started turning into commitment and things began selling. It was though clients were making doubly sure that they wanted something before making the final decision. One customer who bought an important piece after the fair closed, commented that he “.. could only put up with a bear market for so long, as it became tediously boring after a while…”
Interestingly many of the long established large London dealers did not start hearing the scratching of fountain pen on cheque till well into the fair, if they did at all. We on the other hand started slowly and gradually gained momentum, with two large sales coming after the close on Tuesday evening. All in all we were very happy with our BADA outing, despite the doom mongers that we still hear prolifically on TV, radio and in the press.
Maybe Gordon is right, there are some “green shoots” appearing in the economy.