A Norfolk success story celebrating its 70th anniversary – by looking forward
Founded in the same year as Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, a Norfolk auction house is flying high as it celebrates its 70th anniversary – with a reputation as one of the UK’s top regional operators.
Auction trade bible Antiques Trade Gazette recently described Keys Auctioneers and Valuers as ‘Top Tier’, and despite its long heritage, the Aylsham auction house has been a leader in embracing innovation, harnessing the power of the internet to compete on an international level. In 2022 Keys despatched sold items to bidders in more than 80 countries around the world.
Founded in 1953 on the same five acre site it occupies today by Geoffrey Key (whose grandson Tim Blyth leads the business today), Keys started as a small livestock market selling mainly poultry. By the end of the 1950s, these sales had become some of the largest of their type in the country, with future turkey magnate Bernard Matthews buying his first birds at one of the firm’s sales.
During the mid-1950s the markets grew to include a weekly general furniture sale, which still takes place every Monday. Regular selected antique sales were added during the 1960s, followed in later years by other fine art sales including pictures, books and collectables.
Ownership of the business returned to the family in 2018, when Tim Blyth bought Keys back as part of a management buyout, it having passed to a partnership on the death of his grandfather.
Tim had spent the intervening period broadening his horizons within the auction business, studying the property auction market in New Zealand, and in particular helping businesses throughout the sector (including Sotheby’s and Antiques Trade Gazette itself) enter the internet age, using technology to create live online bidding platforms.
It wasn’t surprising, therefore, that one of his first missions on returning to Keys was to make the business a leader in online technology, and he and the team set about developing a bespoke only bidding platform, KeysLive.
This went live in late 2019, which was serendipitous or prescient, depending on your point-of-view. When lockdown hit in March 2020, Keys was one of the first four auction houses to get back up-and-running, thanks to the ability to operate online, giving the business a huge competitive advantage over most other firms.
“Many thought that the internet would be a threat to what was up until then a very traditional sector, but we spotted that it could be a huge opportunity, especially for regional auction houses seeking to challenge the dominance of the big London players,” says Tim Blyth.
Technology alone is not a panacea, though, in an industry where trust and expert knowledge are still the most important currencies. The reason for that ‘Top Tier’ accolade is as much to do with Keys’ team of recognised specialists, in fields such as Chinese ceramics, Books, Pictures, Jewellery and even Pop Art. Keys was one of the first in the business to create apprenticeships in the auction profession, with a eye to building a pipeline of future experts, too.
Few provincial auction houses can match this breadth of knowledge and experience, and it is one of the reasons that a mid-sized auctioneer in Norfolk has been able to muscle its way onto the national and increasingly, international stage.
It is that combination of heritage and innovation which will keep Keys at the forefront of the auction business, according to Tim Blyth. “We always strive to be at the vanguard of developments within our industry, as we look to be able to achieve a modern, forward-looking business that can lead us into the next 70 years.”
