What TimeLine Auctions Ltd does

TimeLine Auctions Ltd is a UK-registered (company number 06873501) specialist auction house headquartered in Harwich, Essex, with additional London offices at Berkeley Square and Pall Mall, conducting live and timed online auctions of antiquities, ancient art, coins and medals, natural history specimens, stamps, and books. The firm traces its heritage to 1858 as Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd (Gregorys) and currently operates with 12 employees, serving a global base of collectors, investors, and museums/institutions. Its core technical platform is a proprietary online auction system enabling real-time live bidding, timed post-sale auctions, absentee/auto bidding, and telephone bidding, with viewing sessions held at the Institute of Directors in London.

The company's principal differentiator is its Nine-Stage Vetting Process — a multi-stage authenticity and provenance workflow incorporating academic cataloguing against a 20,000+-volume reference library, scientific examination (including X-ray fluorescence metal analysis), third-party pre-vetting by trade-association members, and mandatory Art Loss Register and Interpol database screening for all lots above defined value thresholds. The vetting function is staffed by more than 20 specialist consultants drawn from leading auction houses (former Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams heads of department) and museums (former British Museum curators), with academic credentials spanning classical archaeology, numismatics, Egyptology, medieval studies, heraldry, archaeometallurgy, and Mesoamerican studies. Current vetting costs exceed £25,000 per sale and are rising.

Revenue is generated through transaction fees: a 30% buyer's premium on hammer price (inclusive of VAT), an 18% seller's commission, a 6% unsold lot/withdrawal fee, plus storage, transfer, and administrative charges. The firm also offers valuation, probate, and consignment services. Operations span the UK, EU, and select international buyers (with US trade restrictions on Persian/Iranian-origin material), supported by partnerships with the Art Loss Register, SagePay, Mail Boxes Etc. (Romford), and memberships in AIAD, BNTA, CBI, and The Property Ombudsman. The business is privately held with no disclosed institutional investment.

Name

TimeLine Auctions Ltd

Legal name

TimeLine Auctions Limited

Website

https://timelineauctions.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1858

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

TimeLine Auctions Ltd is a UK specialist auction house (founded 1858 as Gregorys) running live and online sales of antiquities, ancient art, coins, natural history, stamps, and books for global collectors, investors, and museums, differentiated by a nine-stage expert vetting process.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Antiquities Auction Services

NAICS

Used Merchandise Retailers (459510)

SIC

Wholesale-Jewelry, Watches, Precious Stones & Metals (5094)

akta.pro primary industry

Auction-based Generalist Marketplaces (CRAFAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Auction Houses (Luxury Watches & Jewelry) (CRAKAKAF), Estate Jewelry & Collection Liquidation Services (CRAKAKAJ)

Keywords

• Antiquities auction services
• Ancient coin auctions
• Natural history auctions
• Antique authentication services
• Fine art valuations

Headquarters

HQ city

Harwich

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Buyer's Premium: 30% of the Hammer Price (inclusive of VAT) charged to successful buyers. Additional charges of up to 6% (inclusive of VAT) apply for buyers using third-party internet bidding platforms.
2. Seller's Commission: 18% of the Hammer Price (VAT inclusive) charged to sellers as standard selling commission. Additional charges apply for collection, storage, unusual research, imaging, testing, and consultation with external specialists.
3. Unsold Lot Fees: 6% (VAT inclusive) of the Reserve Price payable by sellers for Reserved Lots that fail to sell. Withdrawal Fee of 6% (VAT inclusive) of low Estimate or Reserve Price for withdrawn lots.
4. Storage and Administrative Charges: Transfer cost of £20 plus VAT per lot, storage charges of £1.90 plus VAT per lot per day for uncollected items. Western Asiatic items and lots over £1,000 incur £6.00 (VAT inclusive) administration charge per item for Art Loss Register checking.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

TimeLine Auctions operates an online and in-person auction house for antiquities, ancient art, coins, natural history specimens, stamps, and books, supported by a proprietary nine-stage authentication/vetting process. The company runs scheduled live and timed auctions from its Harwich headquarters, with online real-time bidding, absentee bidding, and London viewings. Complementary services include professional valuations for insurance and probate, consignment/selling assistance for collectors, and export licence support.

Product overview

TimeLine Auctions operates a unified online auction platform for antiquities and collectibles, formerly known as Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd (Gregorys), established in 1858. The core offering is the TimeLine Auctions Online Auction Platform, supporting both live real-time bidding and timed auction sales. Key features include the Absentee/Auto Bid Form service and the proprietary Nine-Stage Vetting Process (costing over £25,000 per sale) for authentication. The company offers complementary services including Valuation Services (insurance, probate, fair market), Consignment and Selling Services, Export Licence Assistance, and Catalogue Subscription. Auction categories span antiquities (Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Western Asiatic), ancient coins (numismatics), natural history (fossils, minerals, gems), stamps, books, and general antiquities. Delivery is coordinated through Mail Boxes Etc. (Romford) for packing and shipping.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TimeLine Auctions Online Auction Platform Online auction platform supporting live real-time and timed auctions for antiquities, ancient art, coins, natural history, stamps, and books through secure online bidding, absentee/auto bidding, and telephone bidding for collectors, investors, and institutions worldwide.
• Valuation Services Professional appraisals and valuations for insurance replacement, probate (inheritance tax), and fair market purposes, conducted by antiquities auctioneers and valuers for private collectors, executors, and insurance claims.
• Vetting and Authentication Services Proprietary Nine-Stage Vetting Process including XRF metal analysis, Art Loss Register and Interpol database checks, specialist scientific examination, and expert panel review, applied to all lots meeting certain estimate thresholds.
• Consignment and Selling Services End-to-end consignment support for sellers, including professional cataloguing, photography, global marketing, and auction placement for individual pieces or entire collections across the international auction platform.
• Catalogue Subscription Service Subscription-based service delivering printed auction catalogues to collectors by mail, with a downloadable subscription form, alongside digital catalogue PDFs for online viewing.
• Export Licence Assistance Application service for Cultural Property Export Licences required for cultural goods, provided as a free service to buyers where legally required, alongside compliance with EU Regulation 2019/880 importation requirements.

Quantifiable outcome

• All lots with estimate £1,500+ and all Western Asiatic lots checked against Art Loss Register database
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Mail Boxes Etc. (Romford)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMBE Romford provides packing and shipping services for auction purchases. TimeLine forwards shipping quotations along with invoices, enabling single-payment settlement for buyers.
• Art Loss RegistercoreTechnology or IntegrationAll lots with low estimate £1,500 and above, and all Western Asiatic lots regardless of estimate, are searched against the Art Loss Register database of stolen, looted, and fake items.
• SagePaycoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment service provider used for processing transactions and payments.
• Confederation of British Industry (CBI)minorOthersMember of CBI along with membership in The Property Ombudsman (TPO), Art Loss Register (ALR), Association of International Antiquities Dealers (AIAD), and British Numismatic Trade Association (BNTA).
• Institute of DirectorsminorOthersLondon viewing venue at 116 Pall Mall, St James's for Day 1 lots and all coins. Registration facilities also available at this London venue.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Heritage Auctions: US-headquartered auction house operating across numismatics, antiquities, natural history, and rare books — directly mirroring TimeLine's category mix. Strong online bidding platform and similar take-rate model make it a close comparable across both categories and GTM motion.
• Leu Numismatik: Swiss-headquartered ancient coin auction house with international online bidding. Closely comparable specialist auction format, target buyer (advanced collectors), and take-rate economics.
• Roma Numismatics: Specialist ancient coin auction house with online and live sales. Competes for the same high-end Greek, Roman, and Byzantine coin consignments and uses a similar take-rate model.
• Morton & Eden: London-based auction house specialised in ancient and British coins. Direct competitor for TimeLine's "Numismatic Sale" lots and shares the same UK-based institutional and collector clientele.
• Spink & Son: Long-established London auction house and dealer in coins, stamps, medals, and antiquities. Competes with TimeLine across coins, medals, and ancient artefacts in the UK market.
• Classical Numismatic Group (CNG): Specialist ancient coin auction house and dealer with electronic and live sales. Directly competes with TimeLine's Numismatic Sale (1,233 lots) and shares the same numismatics buyer base.
• CNG (Cngcoins) - Heritage Europe division: Alternative specialist auction house in antiquities and ancient coins with comparable category breadth and online-led GTM. Provides a useful reference for take-rate, cataloguing depth, and vetting investment norms in the niche.

Broad incumbents

• Christie's: Global auction house with a major antiquities department that overlaps directly with TimeLine's core categories. Operates at a much larger scale and houses the strongest brand in the antiquities auction space; several TimeLine consultants (e.g., Laetitia Delaloye, Peter Bufton) are Christie's alumni.
• Sotheby's: Global incumbent auction house with longstanding antiquities and numismatics departments. Direct competitor for high-end antiquities and ancient coins, with a similar multi-category auction model but significantly deeper buyer base and consignor relationships.
• Bonhams: Mid-to-upper-tier international auction house with active antiquities and coins departments. Competes for the same consignor pool and buyer demographic as TimeLine and is a known employer of many of TimeLine's consultants.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/timeline-auctions-ltd

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TimeLine Auctions Ltd