Lloyd Webber wine sells for £3.5m

Lloyd Webber chose to sell his wine in China

Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's wine collection has sold for US$5.6m (£3.5m) at an auction in Hong Kong.

Among the 746 lots, the most expensive case of wine was a Chateau Petrus 1982, 12 bottles going for $77,564 (£48,500).

The collection's sale price beat previous price expectations and Lord Lloyd Webber said he was pleased.

"I hope the new owners enjoy my wines as much as I have and I look forward to reacquainting myself with them in restaurants all over China," he said.

Lord Lloyd Webber, who lives in Berkshire, has collected wine since he was a teenager - when he was said to have had it delivered to his public school, the Telegraph reported.

He said that he sold the wine on Saturday because he did not have the space to store it.

Speaking before the six-hour sale, Serena Sutcliffe, Sotheby's worldwide head of wine, said: "It's a great collection and an obvious one for Hong Kong because there is a great love of French wines such as Bordeaux and Burgundy.

"It happens to be a category appreciated so much in this region."

Hong Kong has emerged as the world's third-largest auction centre after New York and London, helped by the growth of China's economy and the increasing number of millionaires there.

Wine sales have been particularly successful in the former British colony.

Sotheby's sold about $52m (£32.5m) worth of fine wine in Hong Kong last year, more than twice as much as in London and three times as much as New York.