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INSIDE THE FRAME ABN
ART IS MONEY
MONEY A borro appraiser inspects a client's merchandise in Manhattan
WITH THE HELP OF BORRO, YOUR ART COLLECTION CAN GIVE YOU A FINANCIAL BOOST
BY REBECCA PAHLE Y 22
ou don't need us to tell you about the current state of the economy. With all the turmoil the fi nancial system has been embroiled in over the past few years, enterprising entrepreneurs have found that banks aren't nearly as accommodat- ing as they used to be at issuing loans. But when
it comes to securing a few thousand dollars for a business venture, collectors may fi nd that their passion for fi ne art—not their local bank—can get them the capital they need. T e reason? T at would be borro (www.borro.com). T e
U.K.-based company, which recently expanded its operations to New York City, provides short-term loans against high-value luxury assets such as watches, jewelry, cars and fi ne art, giving its customers an effi cient, easy and (most importantly) reliable way to get some quick cash. "Effi cient" and "easy" come into play with the application
process. Customers can submit the form online or speak via phone with a borro account manager; either way, a valuation of the luxury item in question is immediately arranged at the
customer's home or in borro's Midtown Manhattan valuation center. Aſt er that painless process is com- plete, money is deposited into the customer's account within 24 hours, to be paid back over the next six months, with no penalties for paying off a loan early. "Reliable," meanwhile, refers to borro's respect-
ful treatment of fi ne art, both in how it is physically taken care of and the manner in which it is appraised. "We have world-class delivery and storage options, which are free and fully insured, to ensure our cus- tomers' valuables are treated with the utmost care from start to fi nish," notes borro founder and CEO Paul Aitken. T e company utilizes the services of highly-quali-
fi ed professionals—many formerly of Sotheby's, Bon- hams and Christie's—to appraise fi ne art, antiques and sculptures. Factors taken into consideration in determining an item's value besides the artist include a piece's popularity, condition, rarity and provenance, as well as current market trends. Customers can typically expect to receive a loan
of up to 60 percent of a piece's resale value. Recent examples of loans issued by borro include one for $75,000 against a piece by 18th-century portrait
painter George Romney and an $18,000 loan secured against a Picasso. In 2011, notes Aitken, "We issued our fi rst loan [of] over $1 million against a fi ne art collection." T ough small business owners and retailers make up a large
"OUR CUSTOMERS' VALUABLES ARE TREATED WITH THE UTMOST CARE FROM START TO FINISH."
portion of borro's clients, there is no one-size-fi ts-all usage for the fi nancing. One customer "borrowed to invest in a new piece of business soſt ware that paid for itself... over three to four months," explains Aitken. "Another group of customers uses us to fi nance new business ideas." While the days of walking out of a traditional bank with a
loan check in your pocket are as good as gone, you might fi nd that the money you need is already hanging on your wall. ABN
MARCH/APRIL 2012