For the first time in 15 years an Australian auction house has superseded the $50 million mark in its annual sales. Bolstered by the sale of two big corporate collections, auction house Deutscher and Hackett has steamed ahead of its competitors, turning over more than $52 million this year, surpassing the boom-time record set in 2007 when Sotheby’s Australia sold $51.5 million worth of art at auction.

“It’s a very hard act to follow,” says Deutscher and Hackett’s co-executive director Chris Deutscher of his own results, achieved primarily through the consignment of the National Australia Bank’s art collection and that of super fund Cbus.