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Artwork Holdings Ltd, formerly Yield Gallery Limited, described itself as “contemporary art specialists offering the purchase and investment of artwork to the public”
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Insolvency Service investigations into the company found conflicting accounts as to whether it was trading, inaccurate accounts, and a suspected under-payment of VAT and corporation tax
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The company has been shut down by the High Court, with the Official Receiver appointed as liquidator
A company with two London art galleries which marketed itself as selling works by famous artists such as Banksy, Andy Warhol and Tracey Emin has been shut down.
Artwork Holdings Ltd traded under the banner of Yield Gallery, which described itself as an internationally established “reputable and respected” contemporary and modern art gallery with two locations in London.
The business said it specialised in sourcing the rarest works by Banksy and Canadian street artist Richard Hambleton, offering collectors and investors the chance to own “original works from the artists”.
However, Insolvency Service investigations into Artwork Holdings were met with a lack of clarity over the company’s trading status, unreliable accounts, and a failure from the directors to adequately co-operate.
Artwork Holdings opposed the proceedings and asked the court to dismiss the winding-up petition presented by the Insolvency Service.
However, the company was wound-up at a hearing of the High Court in London on Monday 12 May.
Edna Okhiria, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:
Our investigations into Artwork Holdings Ltd found several matters of concern. The company claimed to have ceased trading three years ago, but our investigators uncovered substantial evidence directly contradicting that account. Indeed, the company only changed its name to Artwork Holdings in November 2024.
Unreliable and inconsistent accounts were uncovered which did not provide a fair representation of the company’s business. The company and its director also failed to sufficiently co-operate with our investigations.
The public rightly expects companies to operate with transparency, file their tax returns, and comply with investigations by law enforcement. Artwork Holdings failed to do this and these matters of concern will now be investigated during the course of the company’s liquidation.
Yield Gallery was founded in 2019 with a gallery based on Royal Parade, Blackheath, in south-east London. A second space, which the company said was the largest Richard Hambleton gallery in the world, opened on Eastcastle Street in Fitzrovia in June 2024.
Insolvency Service investigations into Artwork Holdings began in October 2023, with the company named Yield Gallery Limited at that point. The company had earlier traded under a different name, Yield for You Ltd.
Solicitors acting on behalf of the company told investigators that it had ceased trading over a period time, rather than at a particular point as is usually the case. No dates were provided, other than vague statements that it was either in late 2021 or early 2022.
A new company, YG Group Ltd, was alleged to have taken over the company’s business and trading activities.
But information obtained by the Insolvency Service directly contradicted this, with Yield Gallery’s website referencing the company’s full name on its contact page up until April 2024.
A rental agreement for one of Yield Gallery’s former locations was also signed by one of the directors in August 2022, more than six months after it claimed to have stopped trading.
Similarly, it advertised an exhibition in Soho in the autumn of 2023, with the licence agreement for the location giving the company name as Yield Gallery and the company number of Artwork Holdings.
Several Yield Gallery clients contacted by the Insolvency Service also said they had not been informed the company had ceased trading and that the business had been transferred to YG Group.
These issues were not disputed by the company’s active director, who blamed “lax administration”, a “lack of diligence” and “carelessness on my part” for the errors.
Inaccurate and unreliable accounts were also discovered during the investigations.
Investigators found payments from 64 customers totalling just over £2 million paid into two of the company’s bank accounts between December 2020 and April 2022.
But sales for that period were more than £4.2 million, suggesting more than half the company’s revenue did not pass through its bank account.
Investigators also found that a £50,000 Covid Bounce Back Loan had been secured by the company in June 2020. From the accounts seen by the Insolvency Service, it was not entitled to this government-backed loan as its turnover in 2019 was zero, not the £200,000 it needed to be to secure the funds.
The director claimed that the company was entitled to the Bounce Back Loan and that its accounts were wrong.
However, in response to questions from investigators who found that the company appeared to owe more than £100,000 in corporation tax, he said he was “unable to comment on the accuracy of the accounts”.
No evidence was provided by Artwork Holdings that it had declared and paid the corporation tax due on its trading.
Artwork Holdings was also not registered with HM Revenue and Customs as an art market participant which it was required to do to avoid falling foul of money laundering regulations.
Concerns were also identified that the company had not paid the appropriate amount of VAT.
The Official Receiver has been appointed as liquidator of Artwork Holdings Ltd.
All enquiries concerning the affairs of the company should be made to the Official Receiver of the Public Interest Unit: 16th Floor, 1 Westfield Avenue, Stratford, London, E20 1HZ. Email: piu.or@insolvency.gov.uk.
Based on the available evidence provided to the Insolvency Service, there is no indication that any of the artists named above had any direct relationship with the company.
