Mega gallery Hauser & Wirth witnessed a massive 87 percent decline in its gross profits in the UK market in 2024, a recent report revealed.
As per a report by Financial Times, the revenues filings by Hauser & Wirth revealed that it earned revenue of $91.4 million in 2024, less than half compared to the $193 million in 2023. But even more shocking is the drop in its profits. According to the report, the mega gallery only managed gross profits of $1.6 million before taxes in 2024 – a massive 87 percent drop from the $12.5 million pretax profits in the preceding year.
It is speculated that the primary cause behind the drop in profitability was the secondary art sales segment, where Hauser & Wirth bought and sold works from artists it does not represent. The gallery has 18 locations across the world, with two in the UK, and represents some of the biggest artists currently.
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Hauser & Wirth was not the only bad news in 2024 for Artfarm Group, the gallery’s parent group. The group reported a loss of $24 million last year (compared to a loss of $15.8 million a year earlier). The Groucho, one of the hotels run by the group, had its licence cancelled last year after a police investigation. Hauser & Wirth is also not the only art organization that had a bad year in 2024. A recent report revealed that the global art market fell by 12 percent in 2024 while high-value auctions dropped by 39 percent. All the three major auction houses – Sotheby’s, Christie’s ad Phillips – saw a massive decline in their auction value compared to 2023. However, 2025 is emerging as a much better year as the market moves towards stability.
