PR95576

LONDON, April 21, 2022, /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Mintus, the new online, art investment platform offers a new way to buy shares

and invest in exceptional contemporary art opening up the annual $65bn art

market

The first artworks available are iconic paintings by Andy Warhol and George

Condo, with more pieces by established and emerging artists to follow

Discover more: www.mintus.com

Mintus, a new, art investment platform that offers investors the opportunity to

invest in high-value modern and contemporary art, launches today. Investors

will be able to buy shares in a UK company which directly owns and manages the

artwork. Paintings by Andy Warhol and George Condo are the first two works to

be presented by Mintus, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial

Conduct Authority, and the first platform of its kind in the UK. Over $200

million worth of paintings will be on offer to Mintus investors over the course

of 2022, both individually and through curated portfolios of art.

The first outstanding painting on the Mintus platform will be an Andy Warhol

Self-Portrait from 1966, priced at USD $5 million and valued last month at $6.8

million by an independent, leading appraiser. The other painting is George

Condo's The Outcast from 2018, priced at USD $2.775 million and valued last

month at USD $3 million. Both paintings are exceptional examples of each

artist's quintessential styles.

Warhol's Self-Portrait has been held in a private collection since 1991 and was

last exhibited in 2003. In making the work publicly available for the first

time in 31 years Mintus is enabling those looking for alternative ways to

invest their money the chance to own shares and invest in an iconic artwork by

the legendary pop-artist.

George Condo is one of the market's most sought after artists, deeply inspired

and influenced by Pablo Picasso. He brings his figures and compositions to life

through originality and wit. The visually arresting composition of The Outcast

provides a unique opportunity for investors to own shares and invest in a

striking work by Condo.

Brett Gorvy, Mintus' Advisory Board Member and the Chief Curator, said:

"Andy Warhol and George Condo are among the most desirable and sought-after

contemporary artists to collect today. Their markets are very international and

both artists are currently experiencing new popular heights as a result of

major museum retrospectives and record prices achieved at auction."

Previously, accessing high-value, iconic art has predominantly been limited to

selected individuals and institutions. Mintus, through its state-of-the-art,

online investment platform, is now making this viable for all qualifying

investors.

Contemporary art has seen an annual return of 14% over the last 25 years versus

9.5% from the S&P 500. Similarly, the 411 works by Andy Warhol that appeared at

auction multiple times between 2003 and 2017 achieved an average compound

annual growth rate of 14.2%.

Enabling shared ownership of art through holding shares in a company which

purchases it, known as "fractionalisation," comes as people are increasingly

investing in the shared economy, a trend that will shape financial growth over

the next decade and beyond.

Nicky Clark, Managing Director at Mintus' Fine Art Division, said:

"Fractional ownership of art is opening up the industry by allowing investors

to own a piece of the art market. Over recent years we've seen investors

increasingly seek alternative investment strategies to generate risk adjusted

returns. We're excited to provide them with a new way to access a

passion-fuelled asset class."

Notes to Editors

Any art selected by experts and offered for shared ownership by Mintus, will be

subject to independent verification and valuation. Artworks will be kept in a

secure and specialist art storage facility. Qualifying investors include

certified high net worth investors and self-certified sophisticated investors.

Investors can certify as part of the sign-up process.

Mintus will actively manage the art investments until they are ultimately sold

to enable investors to exit the investment.

Mintus has experienced individuals from investment management, technology, and

the art businesses across the management team, Leadership Board and Advisory

Board:

- Maarten Slendebroek, Chairman of Mintus and Member of the Board. He is the

current Chairman of Robeco, the leading European ESG manager. Prior to this

role he was CEO at Jupiter Fund Management from 2014 until 2019.

- Tamer Ozmen, Founder and Chief Executive of Mintus. He was a senior executive

at Microsoft running its UK Services, and previously was on the team that

started, launched and floated Priceline.com (now Bookings Holding Inc).

- Nicky Clark, Managing Director of Mintus' Fine Art Division. He was

previously Business Director for Sotheby's Contemporary Art Department in New

York. He worked on a variety of auctions including the 2019 $50m sales of

Francis Bacon's Study for a Head, and Mark Rothko's Untitled.

- Brett Gorvy, Mintus Advisory Board Member and Mintus' Chief Curator. Brett is

a Managing Partner at LGDR, one of the world's leading contemporary art

galleries and creative collaborations, he was an early pioneer of the

contemporary art boom as Chairman and International Head of Post War and

Contemporary Art at Christie's.

- Board Members also include: Chris Kaladeen, Head of Rothschild & Co's

insurance, and investment management banking business; and Daglar Cizmeci, who

is an Executive Chairman of an augmented reality and metaverse company. The

Advisory Board also includes Tad Smith, former President and CEO of Sotheby's,

former CEO of Madison Square Garden.

Full details of the investment and risks are included in the investment

documents available to all qualifying investors who successfully complete the

sign-up process with Mintus. Investors' attention is drawn to the following key

risks:

Liquidity. Shares held by investors are not traded on a recognised investment

exchange. Investments are long-term. Mintus may allow secondary transactions in

shares through its website in the future.

Risk of Loss. All investments in shares involve a high degree of risk and

compensation for loss of investment is not available.

Lack of Diversification. Shares held by investors represent interests in a

specific, pre-identified artwork and the past performance of the art market, a

particular artist's work, or a given artwork is not a reliable indicator of its

future performance.

Mintus Trading Limited is Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial

Conduct Authority under firm reference number 942522.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1797557/Mintus_1.jpg

Caption - Mintus: Self-Portrait, Andy Warhol, 1966, unseen by the public for

over 20 years.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1797559/Mintus_2.jpg

Caption - Mintus: The Outcast, George Condo, 2018, iconic portraiture with the

imposing scale of his most desirable works.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1797560/Mintus_3.jpg

Caption - Andy Warhol's 1966 Self-Portrait and George Condo's 2018 The Outcast.

New online art investment platform, Mintus, offers the chance to buy shares and

invest in iconic and contemporary high-value art.

Source: Mintus