Strategic acquisition of art management company

To strengthen our wealth management profile, OMNIA has acquired Artglor

As part of our asset-backed wealth management solution, we now offer our clients fine art management services through Luxembourg-based Artglor.

EXPERTS IN FINE ART

Artglor was founded in 2014 by Gérard L’Hermenault, a professional in the art market. Over the last forty years, he has built up extensive expertise within fine art and the sale of contemporary works of art through the organisation of exhibitions and participating in launching several major artists.

In 2015, Eric Bonafini, an entrepreneur specialised in finance and business development, joined Artglor to implement the art leasing branch and to manage fiscal and financial advice linked to investments in fine art.

During the first two years, Artglor mainly organised purchases and sales of major artists like Soulages, Dalí, Picasso and Botero. Today, Artglor gathers expertise in the fine art business and is specialised in the promotion of fine art offering expertise and advice relating to e.g. making an acquisition or collection constitution.

FOCUS ON FINE ART LEASING

Recently, Eric Bonafini decided to organise a major change in the business of Artglor and to not focus on the purchase and sale operation, but on leasing of fine art. Artglor has access to several collections, and the owners are more and more keen to generate revenue based on their collections but without having to sell them.

By this, Artglor reinvented something that had been done before, but with a modern approach. Clients may rent a piece of art for a month or for a year, have the possibility to buy it with a discount or to change it and try something different.

Thanks to Artglor’s experience and global network, the company is able to advise its clients with professionalism, discretion and efficiency both in the choice of works for purchase or sale and in financial positioning.

SYNERGY BETWEEN ARTGLOR AND OMNIA

In October 2017, OMNIA established a partnership with Artglor in order to promote fine art, organise exhibitions and not the least to offer expertise within the fine art market in the context of the securitisation process.

For OMNIA, which has specialised in securitisation of assets within fine art, acquiring Artglor provides an in-house tool allowing to lease the securitised pieces of fine art. This structure allows Artglor to facilitate the communication on the pieces and to dynamise the process of securitisation.

“Since our first meeting, we both knew that at some point we would work together. What makes OMNIA unique is that they put everything in place in order to support entrepreneurship and growth.”
Eric Bonafini

To OMNIA, Artglor is also a great asset in terms of facilitating introductions to fine art owners, as it is easier to be introduced to an art owner in regard to a securitisation operation by a fine art specialist. This means that Artglor will facilitate the introduction of OMNIA to owners of fine art collections.

Eric Bonafini

Furthermore, Artglor organises partnerships with museums and exhibitions. As part of our asset-backed solution, we have developed an optional program offering opportunities for public exposure, giving our clients the possibility of having their collections on display at museums and other venues around the world through Artglor.

Thereby, we are able to assist our clients in expanding the knowledge of and interest in their artworks, which eventually increase the value, while the owners receive cash flow based on the financial value of their fine art.

CLOSING A MARKET GAP

We see a need in the fine art market for access to securitisation and exposition. It has been done before, but many companies have failed due to the lack of the right insurance and logistics. However, together with Artglor, we have established strong partnerships with the right experts for our clients to be able to count on our expertise.

“I am happy that we have expanded our offerings towards our fine art and passion asset clients with an in-house specialist in fine art leasing, exposure and exhibitions.

Eric Bonafini and Gerald L’Hermenault are wellknown experts within securitisation and fine art and will expand our network within the area in order for us to grow faster with the right clients.”
Daniel Hansen, Founder & CEO, OMNIA Global

It is our common goal to offer world class expertise within fine art in all aspects of securitisation of art, and specifically in terms of Artglor to organise effective communication on the pieces of art in the portfolio, to organise exclusive events for art owners and to provide them with the pleasure of entering into Artglor’s world of art by being able to rent artworks.

We are very excited about this partnership and looking forward to seeing our synergies come into play.

For more information about Artglor, please go to Artglor.

 

28.6.2018