Patrick Van Der Vorst (born 2 May 1971 in Bruges), is a Belgian-British priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster and former entrepreneur, dealer, art expert and winner on BBC's Dragons Den.[1][2][3]

Patrick van der Vorst
Van der Vorst auctioneering
Born (1971-05-02) 2 May 1971 (age 53)
Bruges, Belgium
Occupation(s)Art expert and auctioneer
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
Ordained2022 (deacon)
2023 (priest)
Congregations served
Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St George, Enfield

Early career

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Van der Vorst is the grandson of Gaston Depre, founder of animal nutrition company Group Depre.[citation needed]

Van der Vorst attended the Katholieke Universiteit in Leuven, Belgium where he graduated in law. In 1995 he moved to London, where he has lived ever since. He started his career at Sotheby’s Billingshurst in 1996 and transferred in 1997 to Bond Street in London, working first in the impressionist and contemporary art departments, before moving into the furniture department. At age 28 he became Deputy Director at Sotheby's and at 31 a director and head of continental furniture, specialising in 18th century French furniture. In these years he helped organise sales for Elton John's London home, the Easton Neston Sale, Thurn & Taxis, etc. At the age of 39 he left Sotheby's to set up his own company, ValueMyStuff.[4]

Companies

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Auctioneering the Collection of Pele, footballer. 1958 World Cup medal sells for £200,000
 
Deborah Meaden, Patrick van der Vorst, Theo Paphitis

Sotheby's

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Patrick worked at Sotheby's from 1995 to 2010, where he was a Senior Director of the company.

ValueMyStuff

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Founded in 2009, ValueMyStuff is an online antique valuations service. In 2010 van der Vorst appeared on Dragons' Den and secured a £100,000 ($170,000) investment from Deborah Meaden and Theo Paphitis.[5] It was bought in 2015 by Auctionata for an undisclosed sum to the new owners the De Rijck family .[6] After Auctionata's 2017 insolvency, ValueMyStuff was sold as a going concern.[7] Van der Vorst bought back the ValueMyStuff assets in January 2017. After additional ValueMyStuff product launches, Van der Vorst sold the company in October 2018 to the Swedish owned Barneby’s group, the leading search engine for art & antiques.

St George Valuations

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Alongside ValueMyStuff, Van der Vorst also founded St George Valuations in 2011 and is the premium brand of his online antiques business ValueMyStuff. St George Valuations conducts in-person valuation assignments, appraising and cataloguing the contents of country estates, museum collections and/or individual items, from silver spoons to contemporary art. Over 500 country estates and public collections have been valued.[8]

Christian Art

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Van der Vorst launched http://www.christian.art a website that sends out daily emails, listing the Gospel text for the day, alongside a work of art relevant to that reading. The mission is simple: Art and Christianity no longer resonate as an inherent, magnificent pairing. Actually it is a feeling that goes both ways: most Christians no longer see Art as being important or even as a relevant way of promoting the faith; and non believers don’t value Christianity as having been at the forefront of the arts throughout the centuries, responsible for creating some of the most magnificent artworks out there. The websites' offering is simple: one newsletter a day is sent out with the Gospel reading of the day, alongside a work of art that Patrick believes is poignant, reflective and appropriate to that reading. A short reflection accompanies the work of art.[citation needed]

Stukken van Mensen - Belgian TV

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Patrick van der Vorst has participated as a judge/dealer for 5 seasons/years in the Belgian TV series 'Stukken van Mensen'[9] on Vier TV in Belgium.

Priest for the Diocese of Westminster

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In September 2019, Van der Vorst started seminary for the Diocese of Westminster at the Pontifical Beda College in Rome, training for the Catholic priesthood. On 15 June 2022, he was ordained as a deacon by Mark Davies, Bishop of Shrewsbury, at Saint Paul's Basilica.[10][11] On 24 June 2023, he was ordained a priest by Cardinal Vincent Nichols at Westminster Cathedral.[12] He was then assigned as an assistant priest in the parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St George, Enfield.[12][13]

Writings and publications

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Van der Vorst is a contributor to the Huffington Post.[14]

Appearance on BBC's Dragons Den[15]

Deborah Meaden website page on Patrick[16]

Het Laatste Nieuws article[17]

Interview CNBC TV[18]

Nieuws 365 article[19]

Video on ValueMyStuff[20]

Article De Morgen[21]

Management today Article[22]

Book launch Belgian radio - video[23]

Kerknet interview[24]

References

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  1. ^ "Patrick's Official Website". patrickvandervorst.com. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  2. ^ "ValueMyStuff". valuemystuff.com. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Dragons' Den". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  4. ^ "ValueMyStuff". valuemystuff.com. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Dragon's Den". 8. Season 8. Episode 8 of 10. London. 23 September 2010. 59 minutes in. BBC. BBC Two.
  6. ^ ATG Reporter (28 September 2015). "Auctionata buy ValueMyStuff". Antiques Trade Gazette. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  7. ^ "Auctionata Shutters After Failing to Find Investor | artnet News". artnet News. 2017-02-28. Retrieved 2017-03-06.
  8. ^ Hopton, Richard (2014). "Patrick van der Vorst". Country & Town House. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  9. ^ "GoPlay | Kijk online naar volledige afleveringen". www.goplay.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  10. ^ "Gospel in Art: Ordination to the Diaconate". ICN. Independent Catholic News. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  11. ^ "Who's Who at the Beda". Pontifical Beda College. 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  12. ^ a b Teague, Ellen (27 June 2023). "Art expert ordained priest in Westminster". The Tablet. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  13. ^ "Parish Team". www.catholicenfield.org. Our Lady of Mount Carmel & St George | Roman Catholic Parish of Enfield. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  14. ^ "Patrick Van der Vorst". The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post UK. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  15. ^ Robertson, Charles. "BBC - Dragons' Den - Entrepreneurs - Patrick van der Vorst". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  16. ^ "Value My Stuff and the Dragons' Den". www.deborahmeaden.com. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  17. ^ "Kunstdealer Patrick Van der Vorst uit 'Stukken Van Mensen' wordt priester: "De excuses zijn op"". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 2019-07-15. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  18. ^ ValueMyStuff.com interview with CNBC Strictly Money 15.12.10, retrieved 2023-07-10
  19. ^ "Kunstdealer Patrick Van der Vorst uit 'Stukken van mensen' neemt zeer drastisch besluit in zijn leven". Nieuws365.be (in Dutch). 2019-07-15. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  20. ^ "About Patrick Van Der Vorst | Value My Stuff Highlights". Value My Stuff. 2023-07-10. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  21. ^ "'Ik noem mezelf geen late roeping, maar een laat antwoord': Patrick Van der Vorst wordt priester". De Morgen (in Dutch). 2019-07-15. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  22. ^ "My Week: Patrick van der Vorst of Value My Stuff". www.managementtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  23. ^ Patrick van der Vorst over wat is dit waard?, retrieved 2023-07-10
  24. ^ "Patrick van der Vorst: 'Join the Kerknet-family'". Kerknet (in Dutch). 2018-09-20. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
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