Bonhams Scotland reinforces team
The former head of private clients at The Macallan, Patricia Byott, has been appointed as head of spirits for Bonhams in Scotland.
As the auction house’s new head of spirits in Scotland, Byott will be based at the Bonhams Edinburgh saleroom in Melville Crescent.
Byott has more than a decade of experience in senior roles within the spirits and private client sectors and specialises in rare Scotch and global whisky markets.
She joins Bonhams from Edrington, where she served as the head of private clients for The Macallan, based in Hong Kong.
Her appointment is said to underscore the auction house’s commitment to investing in expertise to meet the growing global demand for collectable spirits.
Bonhams also welcomed Jamie Connor to the Edinburgh saleroom team as a whisky specialist earlier this year. Connor, a former employee of The Whisky Exchange, studied at the University of Aberdeen and began his career in marketing and communications before specialising in whisky.
The Scotland team is also working on a programme of new partnerships to be announced in the coming months.
Amayès Aouli, Bonhams’ global head of wine and spirits, commented: “With the global expansion of Bonhams’ wine and spirits department, this strategic move is designed to provide state-of-the-art services to our clients.
“Bonhams has been pioneering the spirits auction market, and I could not be more delighted at our initiative to reinforce our Scotland operations. With Patricia and Jamie, I know our clients will be in excellent hands.”
Bonhams strategically reinforces its operations as it secures a full Scottish license to operate independently and establishes a dedicated warehouse space within London City Bond (LCB) in Glasgow. This move is said further to strengthen the auction house’s spirits activities in Scotland.
Managing director of Bonhams Scotland, May Matthews, said: “Scotland is the natural home for our spirits business, and this move marks a transformative moment.
“With Patricia at the helm, a bonded warehouse in Glasgow, and new partnerships underway, we’re putting the right people and structures in place to better serve our global clients from the heart of whisky country.”
As part of a broader reorganisation, Bonhams will now conduct its European spirits sales from Scotland, allowing for better consolidation of expertise and infrastructure in the region. According to Bonhams, it is the only global auction house that holds spirits sales in Edinburgh.
Earlier this month, Bonhams auctioned a bottle of Yamazaki 55-year-old, which was expected to sell for more than US$250,000. The auction closed on 12 June, with the hammer price of exactly a quarter of a million dollars.
Related news
Bonhams to auction ‘oldest’ whisky bottled in Japan
