Noonans Mayfair
Noonans Mayfair is a privately held UK specialist auction house running regular sales across eight collectibles categories — coins, banknotes, medals, detectorist finds, jewellery, watches, silver, and militaria — serving collectors, detectorists, estates, and private sellers globally via its Mayfair HQ and offices in Hong Kong and Singapore.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Noonans Mayfair does
Noonans Mayfair is a privately held specialist auction house headquartered at 16 Bolton Street, Mayfair, London, operating across eight distinct collecting categories: coins, banknotes, commemorative medals and tokens, detectorist finds, jewellery, medals and militaria, silver and objects of vertu, and watches. Founded over 25 years ago, the company serves an international community of collectors, detectorists, estates, and occasional buyers through regular auction events held at its Mayfair auction rooms and a network of regional UK valuation days.
The firm operates a proprietary technology stack, most notably Noonans Live — an in-house live bidding system developed since April 2019 that streams live video and audio of the auctioneer, displays real-time transparent pricing, and posts purchases to client accounts within roughly one minute of the hammer falling. A companion client account system called 'Your Cabinet' supports saved lots, autobidding ('Plus 1'), and consignment tracking. An in-house photography studio produces catalogue imagery including 360-degree product views. International footprint extends beyond the UK headquarters to regional offices in Hong Kong and Singapore, with no third-party platform integrations disclosed.
Noonans monetises primarily through a 24% buyer's premium on hammer prices (plus VAT where applicable), seller's commissions, import VAT on relevant lots, and statutory droit de suite royalties passed through to qualifying artists. There are no upfront seller fees for collection, photography, marketing, or minimum lot charges. Notable hammer-price outcomes publicly highlighted by the firm include a £750,000 Victoria Cross awarded to Thomas Henry Kavanagh, a £460,000 Roman gold Aureus, and a £320,000 Art Deco bracelet from the Princess Margaret collection. The company is independently owned with no disclosed parent, institutional investor, or external funding.
Noonans Mayfair firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Noonans Mayfair
- Legal name
- Noonans Mayfair
- Website
- https://noonans.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Noonans Mayfair is a privately held UK specialist auction house running regular sales across eight collectibles categories — coins, banknotes, medals, detectorist finds, jewellery, watches, silver, and militaria — serving collectors, detectorists, estates, and private sellers globally via its Mayfair HQ and offices in Hong Kong and Singapore.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Noonans Mayfair industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Auction Services
- NAICS
- Jewelry Retailers (458310)
- SIC
- Retail-Jewelry Stores (5944)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Auction Houses (Luxury Watches & Jewelry) (CRAKAKAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Estate Jewelry & Collection Liquidation Services (CRAKAKAJ)
Keywords
Where Noonans Mayfair is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Noonans Mayfair business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Buyer's Premium: A buyer's premium of 24% of the hammer price (plus VAT if lots are collected or delivered within the UK) is charged on all auction purchases.
- Import VAT: Lots marked with 'x' are subject to importation VAT of 5% on the Hammer Price unless re-exported outside the UK.
- Droit de Suite (Artist's Resale Rights): Royalties payable to qualifying artists or their estates on resales, calculated on a sliding percentage scale based on hammer price, applicable for up to 70 years following the artist's death.
- Seller's Commission: Sellers pay consignment fees; the company does not charge for collecting, photography, marketing, and has no minimum lot charge.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Buyer's Premium - 24% of hammer price plus VAT |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Sellers - No upfront fees |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
Noonans Mayfair product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Noonans Mayfair operates a specialist auction house in Mayfair, London, conducting regular sales of collectibles across eight categories: coins, banknotes, commemorative medals and tokens, detectorist finds, jewellery, medals and militaria, silver and objects of vertu, and watches. The firm provides free valuation services, in-person and online live auctions, and private treaty sales to a global community of collectors and consignors.
Product overview
Noonans Mayfair operates as a specialist auction house offering a portfolio of eight distinct collecting categories. The core platform includes proprietary live bidding technology (Noonans Live) and a customer cabinet system for managing bids and purchases. The business is organized around specialist departments—Banknotes, Coins, Commemorative Medals and Tokens, Detectorist Finds, Jewellery, Medals and Militaria, Silver and Objects of Vertu, and Watches—each with dedicated experts and regular auction sales. Ancillary services include free valuations (online and face-to-face) and private treaty sales. No third-party technology integrations are offered; all systems are proprietary and built in-house.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Noonans Live Online Bidding Proprietary live online bidding platform built in-house since April 2019, providing real-time online auction participation with live video and audio feed, transparent pricing display, and automatic purchase recording within one minute of hammer falling.
- Banknotes Department Auctions
Quantifiable outcome
- Achieved £750,000 hammer price for Victoria Cross
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Noonans Mayfair
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Noonans Mayfair technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Noonans Mayfair partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Noonans Mayfair competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Classical Numismatic Group (CNG): CNG is a US-based specialist auction house for ancient and world coins, directly competing with Noonans' Coins department for Greek, Roman, and Byzantine material. Its electronic auction format and academic positioning make it a benchmark for online numismatic bidding experiences.
- Stack's Bowers Galleries: Stack's Bowers is a leading US-based numismatic auction house specialising in world coins, ancient coins, and banknotes. It is a direct peer to Noonans' Coins and Banknotes departments and frequently competes for the same high-end consignments across the Atlantic.
- Spink & Son: Spink & Son is a long-established London-based auction house and philatelic/numismatic dealer with overlapping specialist departments in coins, banknotes, medals, and stamps. It is the closest direct peer to Noonans in terms of UK-based specialist collectibles auctions, geographic base, and target collector community.
- Morton & Eden: Morton & Eden is a London-based auction house specialising in ancient coins, British coins, and historical medals — directly competing with Noonans' Coins and Medals/Militaria departments. The two houses frequently run competing sales in the same collecting categories to overlapping bidder pools.
Broad incumbents
- Phillips Watches: Phillips is a global auction house with a particularly strong watches department, directly competing with Noonans' Watches auction offerings. Its Hong Kong watch sales and collector-focused marketing approach make it a relevant peer in the Asia collector segment.
- Sotheby's: Sotheby's is one of the world's two largest auction houses, with significant overlap in jewellery, watches, and silver departments. Although its core focus is fine art and ultra-high-value items, Sotheby's competitive push into specialist collecting categories (particularly watches) represents a top-end threat to Noonans' trophy consignments.
- Heritage Auctions: Heritage Auctions is the largest US-based collectibles auction house, operating across coins, currency, jewellery, watches, and militaria — directly overlapping with most Noonans categories. Its scale, US collector base, and online bidding infrastructure make it both a competitor and a benchmark for cross-Atlantic bidder participation in Noonans' sales.
- Christie's: Christie's is one of the world's two largest auction houses, with substantial jewellery and watch departments that overlap directly with Noonans. Its global brand, private client services, and auction schedule make it the primary competitor for ultra-high-net-worth jewellery and watch consignments.
- Bonhams: Bonhams is a major global auction house with substantial specialist departments in jewellery, watches, coins, and militaria, directly overlapping with several Noonans verticals. As a much larger incumbent with global marketing reach and deeper consignor relationships, Bonhams represents the primary competitive threat at the high end of Noonans' specialist categories.
Regional players
- Lyon & Turnbull: Lyon & Turnbull is a leading Scottish-based auction house with comparable multi-category specialist departments including jewellery, watches, coins, and militaria. While geographically focused on Scotland rather than London, it competes for similar consignor and bidder pools in the UK regional market.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Noonans Mayfair social profiles
Digital presenceNoonans Mayfair financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Noonans Mayfair leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
Noonans Mayfair funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Noonans Mayfair M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Noonans Mayfair
What does Noonans Mayfair do?
Noonans Mayfair operates a specialist auction house in Mayfair, London, conducting regular sales of collectibles across eight categories: coins, banknotes, commemorative medals and tokens, detectorist finds, jewellery, medals and militaria, silver and objects of vertu, and watches. The firm provides free valuation services, in-person and online live auctions, and private treaty sales to a global community of collectors and consignors.
Is Noonans Mayfair a public or private company?
Noonans Mayfair is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Noonans Mayfair founded?
Noonans Mayfair was founded in -1. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Noonans Mayfair based?
Noonans Mayfair is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Noonans Mayfair make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Buyer's Premium is the primary driver. The others are import VAT, droit de Suite (Artist's Resale Rights) and seller's Commission.
Who are Noonans Mayfair's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Classical Numismatic Group (CNG), Stack's Bowers Galleries, Spink & Son and Morton & Eden. Broad incumbents are Phillips Watches, Sotheby's, Heritage Auctions, Christie's and Bonhams. Lyon & Turnbull is listed as a regional player.
Does Noonans Mayfair have an API?
No public API is recorded for Noonans Mayfair.
What industry is Noonans Mayfair in?
Noonans Mayfair's product category is Auction Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAKAKAF, Auction Houses (Luxury Watches & Jewelry), with a secondary code of CRAKAKAJ, Estate Jewelry & Collection Liquidation Services. Its NAICS code is 458310 and its SIC code is 5944.