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LONDON (Reuters) - London's art market is attracting the lion's share of business from an emerging class of super-wealthy collectors from Russia, the Middle East and China, and they are likely to be a big factor in a summer season of sales valued at up to $1 billion (638 million pounds).
Christie's, Sotheby's and smaller rivals like Phillips de Pury hold a three-week series of auctions featuring works by artists as diverse as Rembrandt, Renoir and Gerhard Richter.
Euro zone turmoil and slowing Chinese economic growth are giving investors the jitters, yet the high-end art market has defied gravity on a record-breaking streak.
New York has long been considered the global capital of the auction world -- most recent records have been set there, including the $120 million paid for Edvard Munch's "The Scream" at a Sotheby's sale in May.
London, a more natural fit for Russian tycoons who have homes in the city and Middle Eastern buyers just a mid-haul flight away, may be closing that gap.
Sotheby's has calculated that, while the number of lots sold to buyers from "new" markets has risen in both cities so far this year, the increase has been far more marked in London (33 percent) than New York (six percent).
"Particularly the Russians feel very comfortable bidding in the London sales as many of them have second homes and are very active here," said Helena Newman, chairman of Sotheby's impressionist and modern art department in Europe.
"I think that because of our geographic situation, we are the gateway to the East ... Central Asia, the Middle East and the East," she told Reuters at the company's London headquarters where star lots from the upcoming sales were on display.
"We definitely see that in the sales of recent years. It is a growing trend."
BILLION-DOLLAR BONANZA?
Beyond bragging rights, auctioneers are not overly concerned with who buys what where. Key lots for sale in London come from the United States, for example, and the market overall has become more globalised.
One of the prize lots of the season is English artist John Constable's "The Lock", being offered by Christie's for 20-25 million pounds and the only one of a series of six important landscapes by the painter to be in private hands.
It goes under the hammer on July 3 and should eclipse the 10.8 million pounds raised when it was sold in 1990 - a British painting record it held for 16 years.
On the same night, Rembrandt's "A Man in a Gorget and Cap" is on course to raise 8-12 million pounds.
On Wednesday, a Renoir nude is set to fetch 12-18 million pounds and the next week the same auctioneer offers Yves Klein's "Le Rose du Bleu", estimated at 17-20 million pounds and Francis Bacon's "Study For Self-Portrait" (1964) (15-20 million).
Christie's, the world's largest auction house, expects to raise at least 310 million pounds from its sales of impressionist, modern, contemporary art as well as those of British paintings and Old Masters.
The upper estimate is closer to 500 million pounds, and combined with Sotheby's low target of 210 million pounds, a billion-dollar art bonanza looks within reach.
"The four week summer season of major international auctions at Christie's ... is set to become one of the richest and most valuable series of auctions in company history," said Jussi Pylkkanen, head of Christie's Europe.
MIRO RECORD IN SIGHT
At Sotheby's, the top work of the season could be Joan Miro's "Peinture (Etoile Bleue), valued at 15-20 million pounds and in sight of the artist record set this year of 16.8 million.
Its appearance so soon after the February record is no coincidence -- auction houses tailor sales to reflect the latest tastes, and the Miro, along with works by Henry Moore and Surrealist Paul Delvaux, all follow recent auction highs.
The prominence of large, colourful, figurative works at Sotheby's, including Kees van Dongen's "Lailla", Marc Chagall's "L'Arbre de Jesse" and Delvaux's "Deux Femmes couchees", also reflects emerging market tastes.
Soaring prices for coveted works of art at a time of global economic uncertainty have long prompted warnings of a sharp correction and even collapse, but time and again in the last three years the market has defied the gloomiest predictions.
There has been weakening in Chinese demand and tastes can be fickle, but the very best works of art have generally risen in value since a sharp but brief drop in auction turnover in 2009.
The contraction was as much a reflection of sellers backing away as of falling demand, experts say, and auction houses believe they are back in a "virtuous cycle" of rising prices in turn attracting the very best works on to the market.
Institutional acquisitions have also played a key role in the recovery, with Qatar emerging as one of the biggest buyers of art in recent years as it fills a growing network of museums.
Widespread reports said the Gulf state paid $250 million for Paul Cezanne's "The Card Players" in a private deal, believed to be the highest price ever paid for a work of art. (Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)
New Astra hatch and Sports Tourer unveiled today - YAHOO!
Vauxhall has today lifted the wraps off the next Astra Hatch and Sports Tourer models to be built in Ellesmere Port this summer and go into showrooms in September without any increase in prices. (Source: Business Car Manager)
(PRWEB UK) 18 June 2012
They are joined by the latest addition to the GTC range, the 195PS BiTurbo diesel model.The revised styling by VP of Design Mark Adams gives the cars a more bold and aggressive appearance. Both body styles get a new front grille, with repositioned logo-bar in the upper section and a re-styled lower section too. New front indicator lamps and a new design of fog lamp (where fitted) complete the front-end revisions. The rear of both models has also been refreshed, with new rear-panel styling complemented by a chrome lower moulding.
The Astra GTC 2.0 CDTi BiTurbo, will become the most powerful non-VXR model in the range, producing 195PS and 400Nm of torque. And while the extra power and torque give it a healthy lift in performance with 0-60mph arriving in just 7.8 seconds and a top speed of 139mph, the BiTurbo still achieves a combined 53.3mpg and CO2 emissions of 139g/km. All BiTurbos receive Vauxhall’s Start/Stop system as standard.
Uniquely in this class, the GTC uses a sequential turbocharging system, with the smaller turbo accelerating quickly at lower speeds to eliminate ‘lag’, providing 350Nm of torque from just 1500rpm. In the mid-range, both turbochargers work together providing maximum torque of 400Nm between 1750-2500rpm.
The Astra GTC BiTurbo enters the range at £23,925 – a premium of £995 over the GTC 2.0 CDTi 165PS model – but in addition to extra power and torque, receives: bespoke 18-inch alloy wheels, Electronic Climate Control, 6mm lower ride-height, a new body-kit and ‘Track’ interior trim, with a flat-bottomed leather steering wheel.
Enhancing the appeal of all Astra models still further is the introduction of a raft of options previously unseen in the range. Customers can now order the Driver Assistance Pack, which for £750 includes features like Forward Collision Alert, Lane Departure Warning, Traffic Sign Recognition and Following Distance Indicator.
Other new options for the Hatch and Sports Tourer only include a Rear View Camera Pack, Winter Pack (heated steering wheel and seats for £345) and LED daytime running lights (£145). Three new colours – Sculpture Bronze, Phantom Grey and Deep Sky – have also been introduced, while the Astra’s standard DAB radio has been upgraded to a DMB (Digital Media Broadcast) system across the range.
As with all Vauxhall passenger cars, Lifetime Warranty is standard, giving first owners the peace of mind of a warranty that literally lasts the car’s lifetime, up to a maximum 100,000 miles.
The prices range from £21,595 for the Astra Sport 1.7 110ps to £23,925 for the Bi Turbo 2.0 195ps .
Keep up to date with the best in the business car leasing guide and look at the company car tax calculator to work out what it will cost.
Businesscarmanager.co.uk
Conrad Swailes
Weboptimiser Group Ltd
0800 614 421
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Great News For Vauxhall In Britain - PRLog (free press release)
Vauxhall dealer group – Northern Motors – with branches located in Harrow, Ruislip and Watford are delighted with Vauxhall’s recent announcement that the next-generation Astra compact car will continue to be built at the manufacturing plant, Ellesmere Port, in Cheshire. In future, Ellesmere Port will be the lead plant of only two in Europe building the new model.
The decision follows the conclusion of a groundbreaking new labour agreement recently approved by the Vauxhall workforce. The agreement comes into force in 2013 and runs through the life of the next-generation Astra – into the early 2020’s. As part of the agreement, the plant will implement a number of creative operating solutions to improve flexibility, reduce fixed-costs and significantly improve its competitiveness. Ellesmere Port plant will become one of the most competitive plants in the Vauxhall/Opel manufacturing network.
In addition to creation of 700 plus jobs, Vauxhall will create investment locally via use of local suppliers and in the UK overall.
Vauxhall Chairman and Managing Director, Duncan Aldred, said: “This is great news for the Ellesmere Port plant, our employees, the local community, our suppliers, the Vauxhall brand and the UK. We have been able to develop a responsible labour agreement that secures the plant’s future.
With Ellesmere Port’s proven build quality and a new agreement that ensures excellent cost competitiveness, this facility will provide additional employment and, as the lead plant for the next-generation Astra, will be one of the cornerstones of our European manufacturing footprint.”
In 2007, Ellesmere Port became the first UK manufacturing plant to receive the Energy Efficiency Accreditation and in 2010 became the first European manufacturing plant to achieve the Wildlife Habitat Accreditation.
For further information, visit www.northernmotors.co.uk, www.facebook.com/
Andy White, Sales Manager at Northern Motors Watford, tel: 01923 813000
Derek Williams, Sales Manager at Northern Motors Harrow, tel: 0208 427 4444.
Eye-catching new cable car over the Thames set to be ready in time for London Olympics - Daily Mail
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An impressive new 50 million cable car system that will give tourists panoramic views over the River Thames in London is set to be ready in time for the Olympics, it has been revealed.
It was feared that the network would be not be finished in time for the start of the Games on July 27 but an application for final approval has been received by Transport Secretary Justine Greening.
Eye-catching feature: The 50 million cable car system will be the first of its kind in the UK
Security checks have been carried out in the past few weeks and it is understood that the Department for Transport will soon give the project the green light.
It means that spectators will be able to use the cable cars to travel between two of the Games venues - the 02 Arena on the south bank of the Thames and the ExCel exhibition centre in east London.
The Emirates-sponsored transport will be the first urban cable car system of its kind in the UK.
The gondolas, which will travel 160 feet above the river, are due to be an eye-catching feature, but are also seen as a vital cross-Thames link in east London and part of the drive to regenerate the local economy.
Vital link: Spectators will be able to use the cable cars to travel between two of the Olympic Games venues
There will be 34 gondolas carrying 2,500 passengers an hour across the river between Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks in just five minutes.
It is not yet known how much a trip on the cable car will cost, but Transport for London has said travellers will be able to pay by Oyster, the pay-as-you go card which already functions on London buses, underground trains and the Docklands Light Railway.
Mayor Boris Johnson has refused to confirm whether the project will be open to the public during the Games, however he said: 'Gliding serenely through the air across the Thames will provide a truly sublime, bird's eye view of our wonderful city.
'This innovative airborne travel link will be a vital component in the ongoing renaissance of a vibrant easterly quarter of the Capital, providing a much-needed river crossing.'
Easing congestion: The 34 gondolas will be able to carry up to 2,500 people an hour across the river in each direction
The consortium to build and operate the cable car was led by Mace, whose past projects include the London Eye and the Shard Tower in London.
The cost of the cable car was originally estimated at around 25m and it was intended to be funded entirely by private investors.
But, despite a 10-year sponsorship deal with the Dubai-based airline Emirates worth 36m, public money was needed to make up the shortfall.
London now joins cities including Barcelona, Cologne, Hong Kong, Lisbon, New York and Singapore which all operate cable car systems.
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