Market dispatch·London
UK moves to standardise auction sale data as the trade rallies behind a new sector body
A new UK standard industrial classification will standardise art and antiques auction data, as SLAD and others back plans for a unified trade body, reports The Art Newspaper.
The UK is moving to standardise auction sale data through a new standard industrial classification code, SIC 47.921, creating a shared data framework for art and antiques auctioneers. The development, reported by The Art Newspaper on 11 September 2026, coincides with growing sector support for a new unified trade body — with SLAD director general Paul Hewitt among the figures making the case at the Art Business Conference on 8 September. Together, the moves signal a push toward greater transparency and collective representation in the British art market.
