Bonhams auction house sold to private credit firm with leadership overhaul

Pemberton Asset Management, a European private credit firm backed by Legal & General, has acquired the 232-year-old auction house Bonhams from private equity firm Epiris for an undisclosed sumtheartnewspaper.
The acquisition triggers a complete leadership overhaul, with CEO Chabi Nouri and Chief Commercial Officer Céline Assimon departing their roles immediately, while CFO Alex Lejeune will remain until year-end to assist with the transitiontheartnewspaper.
The departing executives are being replaced by three business leaders with no apparent art or luxury world experience: Seth Johnson as CEO, Liese Thomas as CFO, and Jennifer Babington as COOtheartnewspaper.
The sale follows Epiris’s failed attempt in 2023 to take Bonhams public with a reported $1 billion valuation, after the firm had pursued aggressive expansion since 2018, acquiring regional auction houses across Europe and the UStheartnewspaper.
Pemberton, which has been a lender to Bonhams, describes the transaction as eliminating the auction house’s debt and providing strategic flexibility, positioning the firm for its next growth phaseartdependence.

Bonhams Sold to Pemberton Asset Management with Leadership Overhaul

Pemberton Asset Management, a European private credit firm backed by Legal & General, has acquired the 232-year-old auction house Bonhams from private equity firm Epiris for an undisclosed sum, marking another major ownership change in the art auction industry.theartnewspaper

The acquisition, announced internally on Saturday, triggers a complete leadership overhaul at the prestigious London-based auction house. Global CEO Chabi Nouri and Chief Commercial Officer Céline Assimon have immediately departed their roles, while Chief Financial Officer Alex Lejeune will remain until year-end to assist with the transition.artnet

New Management from Outside Art World

The departing executives are being replaced by three business leaders with no apparent art or luxury world experience. Seth Johnson steps in as CEO, joined by Liese Thomas as CFO and Jennifer Babington as COO, all described by Board Chairman Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard as having “a proven track record of success in serving high value customers in marketplaces and steering through periods of change”.theartnewspaper

Nouri’s tenure was particularly brief—appointed in August 2024 after leading Richemont-owned Piaget for seven years, she was tasked with steering Bonhams through digital expansion and regional growth. Assimon, who joined from De Beers in May 2023, had an even shorter stint.thevalue

Failed IPO Leads to Private Credit Sale

The sale follows Epiris’s failed attempt in 2023 to take Bonhams public with a reported $1 billion valuation through JPMorgan Chase. The British private equity firm, which acquired the auction house in 2018, had pursued an aggressive expansion strategy, acquiring regional houses including Sweden’s Bukowskis, Boston’s Skinner, Denmark’s Bruun Rasmussen, and France’s Cornette de Saint Cyr.artdependence

This expansion paid off financially—Bonhams’ revenues crossed the $1 billion mark for the first time in 2022 and rose to $1.14 billion in 2023, making it the most profitable year in the company’s history. The auction house now operates 14 salerooms globally across more than 60 collecting categories.artnews

Pemberton, which manages approximately $27 billion in assets and has been a lender to Bonhams since 2022, describes the transaction as eliminating the auction house’s “debt overhang” and providing “balance sheet strength and strategic flexibility”. The private credit firm, founded in 2011 and backed by one of Europe’s largest insurers, specializes in alternative lending to mid-market companies.thevalue