Paul Hewitt from the Society of London Art Dealers on driving growth in the UK art market
Following discussions with Chris Bryant MP, we invited Paul Hewitt to share his perspective on the future of the UK art market.
The UK Art Market: Successes to celebrate and risks we can’t ignore
For years, the UK’s commercial art market - the third largest globally - has been a quiet but powerful engine of the nation’s creative economy. This year, for the first time, government has formally recognised our sector within the wider Creative Industries strategy. That acknowledgement, hard-won and overdue, matters. It positions the art trade not merely as a cultural asset, but as a contributor to national economic growth and, if it is allowed to function competitively, a future driver of it.
Two reforms introduced over the summer deserve credit. First, the extension of Temporary Admission (TA) from two to four years is a meaningful reduction in friction for galleries and dealers whose businesses depend on the movement of artworks across borders. Temporary Admission is a customs procedure that lets you bring goods into the UK temporarily for a specific purpose without paying import duty or VAT, as long as you follow the rules. The goods must be used in an approved way, not changed (other than basic maintenance), and then re-exported within a set time limit.
Second, the National Crime Agency’s decision to lower the risk rating for art from “high” to “medium” is a welcome step toward a more proportionate regulatory environment. These changes are not trivial: they save time, reduce costs, and allow small and mid-sized dealers to devote resources back to their core mission of supporting artists and connecting audiences with art.
Yet these measures, while helpful, are only the beginning. If the UK expects the art trade to play its part in widening access to creative careers or supporting initiatives aimed at talent development, then the sector requires deeper deregulation, and faster.
One development that deserves unqualified celebration: the outcome of the recent Curriculum & Assessment review. At its heart lies a renewed commitment to creative subjects. For the first time in years, we are seeing a coherent policy link between arts education in schools, the training of future artists, and the health of the wider cultural ecosystem. A revitalised arts curriculum, clearer expectations in art, drama, and design, and the establishment of a National Centre for Arts and Music Education together form the beginning of a talent pipeline this country has long needed. The trajectory is right; the challenge is to sustain it.
Regrettably, creativity in policy seems to be going in the opposite direction when it comes to the treatment of non-Doms. The recent changes to taxation, particularly the inclusion of global assets for inheritance tax, have triggered a well-documented flight of internationally mobile high-net-worth individuals. Whatever one’s political view of non-Doms, their contributions to British cultural life are a matter of fact: they buy from UK galleries, they support UK artists, and they donate to UK museums. Their departure is, bluntly, an own goal.
Other global art hubs - Milan and Dubai most prominently - have understood the value of welcoming such individuals. Their growth has come, in part, at our expense. The UK is increasingly perceived as a highly regulated, high-cost market. That perception does not just harm sales; it weakens philanthropy. The government should seriously consider revisiting the most damaging elements of the new rules, particularly those restricting museum board participation and the excessively rigid 90-day requirement that punishes rather than encourages cultural giving.
Comparisons with the past are instructive. Since Brexit, the UK has lost its long-established position as the primary entry point for artworks entering Europe. Customs processes are slower and more expensive than those in our major competitor markets, notably the US and Hong Kong. The extension of Temporary Admission helps at the margins, but the truth is unavoidable: without closer alignment with EU customs procedures, or ideally a partial customs arrangement for cultural goods, the UK will continue to be disadvantaged.
Copyright protection is an area requiring urgent attention. Artists’ work is increasingly being scraped, ingested, and repurposed by AI developers, often without permission and certainly without compensation. If we want artists to thrive, the UK must introduce transparency and enforcement measures that protects their rights and ensures that their intellectual property cannot be exploited indiscriminately. Strong copyright protection is not anti-innovation; it is pro-creativity.
Government has asked arts organisations to speak with a clearer, more unified voice, much like the UK’s music and performing arts industries. The Society of London Art Dealers is actively engaging with fellow trade bodies and organisations such as DACS, CVAN and CPU to explore how a more coherent, pan-visual-arts coalition might amplify our collective voice. It is an important and necessary step.
The UK has the talent, the history, and the global reputation to remain a leading art market. But leadership is a choice. It requires smart regulation, competitive tax structures, open borders for cultural goods, and a policy environment that respects the interdependence of the entire cultural ecosystem.
The building blocks are there. The question is whether the government will build on them, or allow others to.
About the author
Paul Hewitt is the Director General of The Society of London Art Dealers, a trade association for dealers across the UK. His experience includes 18 years at Christie’s where he was responsible for driving new buyer engagement globally.
