The global art market continues its multi-year downturn. In October, the Financial Times reported that Hauser & Wirth’s UK profits plunged nearly 90 percent last year, with revenues dropping from USD 193.2 million in 2023 to USD 91.7 million in 2024. Fellow mega gallery David Zwirner’s UK pre-tax profits also fell by almost 90 percent, underscoring the severity of the contraction in one of the world’s key art markets. Both galleries attributed the sharp decline primarily to a steep fall in secondary-market sales.

The summer of 2025 saw a wave of prominent gallery closures, most notably Blum and Clearing. In early October, Almine Rech shuttered its London location in Mayfair after 11 years, putting its UK business into voluntary liquidation. The move was described as a lease restructuring but nevertheless significant in the context of art market fragility.