£296.3m collection sale and £2.5m relief cap mark 2026 to September

Between 1 January and 30 September 2026, six dated moments showed owners where value and risk sat: three auction records, a UK tax change, an EU court ruling on sanctions and a jet operator’s prepaid money.

From 6 April 2026, according to GOV.UK, a £2.5m allowance applies to the combined value of an estate’s property qualifying for 100 per cent relief under agricultural and business property relief, and qualifying property above £2.5m receives relief at 50 per cent. The same page said the government had introduced the amendment to the Finance Bill.

Megayacht News reported on 9 June that the seizure of Sailing Yacht A, which Italian authorities valued at about US$611m when they seized it, remains in place after a ruling by the EU’s highest court. The court said belonging and control cover all forms of power or influence over assets, and that indications of ownership or control by a beneficiary or settlor (the person who sets up a trust) can be inferred.

Sotheby’s London scheduled a single-owner collection sale for 24 and 25 June. The Art Newspaper reported a total of £296.3m including fees, from £249.3m before them, called it the most valuable single-owner collection ever sold in the UK, and said the total nearly tripled the previous British record of £101m.

In September Phillips held a charity auction at which four Rolex Daytona watches together raised £37.3m, about US$49.5m according to SJX Watches. SJX called it the largest tally ever for a charity watch auction, ahead of the US$31m achieved by one Patek Philippe watch, the Grandmaster Chime ref. 6300A, in 2019. The Patek figure was for a single watch, whereas the Rolex figure covers four.

Private Jet Card Comparisons said OneFlight had built up around US$300m in deferred revenue when it suspended flight activity in September, according to documents it reviewed, after earlier reporting over US$150m in payments for future flights. OneFlight had announced a 30-day grounding of its flights. Private Jet Card Comparisons said OneFlight, like most programmes, does not escrow (hold with a third party) those funds, while some operators keep prepaid money in segregated accounts.