Meet Harley, an independent art dealer who has a keen eye for emerging artists. He discovers a stunning sculpture by up-and-coming artist Sam Shendi and is certain that one client in particular will snap it up. Strikingly contoured, vibrantly coloured and fashioned in Shendi’s material of choice, steel, the work would be irresistible to Harley’s client, who has become quite the enthusiast for Shendi's work. Harley’s dilemma? He needs £11,000 to buy it, money that he doesn’t currently have.
Shendi, Harley fully understands, is an artist to watch. After studying Monumental and Architectural Sculpture at Cairo’s University of Helwan, Shendi relocated to the UK in 2000. Since then, his work, which explores the relationship between the figure and abstraction, has been widely exhibited throughout the UK and mainland Europe and collected across the planet. For Harley, walking away from this piece when it’s so tantalisingly close to being in his grasp is excruciating
If, however, Harley had approached peer-to-peer lender Unbolted, the story would have had a happy outcome. Because Harley was wrong: he did have access to the money he needed, it’s just that it wasn’t sitting in front of him in the form of cash. Presciently, with his near-infallible eye for new artists of promise, he’d purchased a 6ft x 4ft canvas by US multimedia artists Nathan James for a mere £350 ($500) during a visit to America ten years ago. James was a new and relatively unknown face at the time, but not any longer - that same work is now worth at least £17,551 ($25,000), more than sufficient for Harley to purchase the Shendi sculpture.
Harley could have had this work evaluated by Unbolted’s specialist partners - Lyons and Turnbull, who have a dedicated team of Fine Art specialists). Then, if he wanted to proceed, the James canvas would be collateralised as security for the loan and placed in safe storage under our control for the duration of the loan (usually six months).
Art dealers who have relied on traditional lenders for their borrowing requirements may be surprised at another feature Unbolted shares with other p2p lenders: we’re much, much faster. We operate a digital platform, connecting our hundreds of investors with borrowers rapidly and efficiently. Within hours of a photograph of the asset being uploaded to or site, we can usually make an indicative offer. The following day, when the asset reaches our London offices via our next-day courier service and is evaluated by our expert partners, the money can usually be in the borrowers’ account within hours.
We differ from most other peer-to-peer lenders in one important respect. Because we offer secured asset loans, we never subject out applicants to intrusive and potentially damaging credit searches. Creditworthiness is irrelevant to out investors; the asset is all the security we need to advance the money.
Harley would have regained possession of his coveted canvas as soon as he’d been paid for the Shendi sculpture. Our loans mature in six months, but borrowers can settle as early as they wish without penalty.
Moral of the story? Should’ve gone to Unbolted.
