David Hockney’s painting Early Morning, Sainte-Maxime will be auctioned in October at Christie’s in London, with an estimate of between £7 million and £10 million (US$8.1 million and US$11.5 million).
Starting Saturday, the 1969 painting will be exhibited, along with some US$440 million-worth artworks, by Christie’s during the inaugural Frieze Seoul art fair in Seoul, South Korea.
The painting is one of four paintings Hockney created based on photographs taken during a trip to France with his then partner, Peter Schlesinger, an American artist and model, in autumn 1968. It depicts a sublime view in the South of France, near Saint Tropez.
“This exquisite scene captures the vibrant hues that the sun casts as it rises over the glistening water of the French Riviera,” Katharine Arnold, head of post-war and contemporary art at Christie’s Europe, said in a statement. The painting “demonstrates Hockney’s masterful ability to translate the multifaceted qualities of water to canvas.”
Hockney, 85, is one of the most commercially successful living artists in the world. A total of 511 Hockney works were sold in 2020—the latest year from which data is available—at public auctions with a total value of US$132 million, making him the top-selling living artist.
A prolific artist, Hockney is best known for his swimming pool series. His 1972 work, Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), sold in November 2018 at Christie’s in New York for US$90.3 million, a then-record for any artwork by a living artist sold at auction.
While the 1972 masterwork was created as Hockney was dealing with the heartbreak after his relationship with Schlesinger ended, Early Morning, Sainte-Maxime preceded that and was painted as their relationship was blossoming. From the painting, “we see the artist expressing his feelings of deep contentment and ease,” Arnold said.
Early Morning, Sainte-Maxime last sold at auction in 1988 and has not been seen in public for more than 34 years, according to Christie’s, which will offer it as a highlight of its 20th and 21st-century art sale on Oct. 13 in London.
The painting will travel to Hong Kong from Seoul for a public exhibition from Sept. 14 to 16, then to New York from Sept. 24 to 28 before returning to London for viewing from Oct. 6 to 13.
As Australia’s family offices expand their presence in private credit, a growing number of commercial real estate debt (CRED) managers are turning to them as flexible, strategic funding partners.
Knight Frank’s latest Horizon 2025 update signals renewed confidence in Australian commercial real estate, with signs of recovery accelerating across cities and sectors.
As Australia’s family offices expand their presence in private credit, a growing number of commercial real estate debt (CRED) managers are turning to them as flexible, strategic funding partners.
Family offices are increasingly asserting their dominance in Australia’s private credit markets, particularly in the commercial real estate debt (CRED) segment.
With more than 2,000 family offices now operating nationally—an increase of over 150% in the past decade, according to KPMG—their influence is not only growing in scale, but also in strategic sophistication.
Traditionally focused on preserving intergenerational wealth, COI Capital has found that family offices have broadened their mandates to include more active and yield-driven deployment of capital, particularly through private credit vehicles.
This shift is underpinned by a defensive allocation rationale: enhanced risk-adjusted returns, predictable income, and collateral-backed structures offer an attractive alternative to the volatility of public markets.
The Competitive Landscape for Manager Mandates
As family offices increase their exposure to private credit, the dynamic between managers and capital providers is evolving. Family offices are highly discerning capital allocators.
They expect enhanced reporting, real-time visibility into asset performance, and access to decision-makers are key differentiators for successful managers. Co-investment rights, performance-based fees, and downside protection mechanisms are increasingly standard features.
While typically fee-sensitive, many family offices are willing to accept standard management and performance fee structures when allocating $5M+ tickets, recognising the sourcing advantage and risk oversight provided by experienced managers. This has created a tiered market where only managers with demonstrated execution capability, origination networks, and robust governance frameworks are considered suitable partners.
Notably, many are competing by offering differentiated access models, such as segregated mandates, debt tranches, or tailored securitisation vehicles.
Onshore vs. Offshore Family Offices
There are important distinctions between onshore and offshore family offices in the context of CRED participation:
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Onshore Family Offices: Typically have deep relationships with local stakeholders (brokers, valuers, developers) and a more intuitive understanding of planning, legal, and enforcement frameworks in Australian real estate markets. They are more likely to engage directly or via specialised mandates with domestic managers.
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Offshore Family Offices: While often attracted to the yield premium and legal protections offered in Australia, they face structural barriers in accessing deal flow. Currency risk, tax treatment, and regulatory unfamiliarity are key concerns. However, they bring diversification and scale, often via feeder vehicles, special-purpose structures, or syndicated participation with Tier 1 managers.
COI Capital Management has both an offshore and onshore strategy to assist and suit both distinct Family Office needs.

Impact on the Broader CRED Market
The influx of family office capital into private credit markets has several systemic implications:
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Family offices, deploying capital in significant tranches, have enhanced liquidity across the mid-market CRE sector.
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Their ability to move quickly with minimal conditionality has contributed to yield compression, particularly on low-LVR, income-producing assets.
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As a few family offices dominate large allocations, concerns emerge around pricing power, governance, and systemic concentration risk.
Unlike ADIs or superannuation funds, family offices operate outside the core prudential framework, raising transparency and risk management questions, particularly in a stress scenario.
So what is the answer? Are Family Offices the most Attractive?
Yes—family offices are arguably among the most attractive funding partners for CRED managers today. Their capital is not only flexible and long-term focused, but also often deployed with a strategic mindset.
Many family offices now have a deep understanding of the risk-return profile of CRE debt, making them highly engaged and informed investors.
They’re typically open to co-investment, bespoke structuring, and are less bogged down by institutional red tape, allowing them to move quickly and decisively when the right opportunity presents itself. For managers, this combination of agility, scale, and sophistication makes them a valuable and increasingly sought-after partner in the private credit space.
For high-performing CRED managers with demonstrable origination, governance, and reporting frameworks, family offices offer not only a reliable source of capital but also a collaborative partnership model capable of supporting large-scale deployments across market cycles.
Faris Dedic is the Founder and Managing Director of DIG Capital Advisory and COI Capital Management
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