Art investment company with two disqualified directors is wound up: TONY HETHERINGTON investigates

Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday’s ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below. 

An art investment company that The Mail on Sunday revealed had employed two barred directors – one with a jail record for fraud – has been wound up after the High Court heard evidence from the Insolvency Service of numerous ‘matters of concern’.

Artwork Holdings used the name ‘Yield Gallery’ and advertised works by Banksy, Andy Warhol and Tracey Emin. In 2023, I warned that one of its bosses, described as the gallery’s creative director and named as Jon Sullivan, was actually Jonothan Piper.

In 2016, Piper was given five-and-a-half years after admitting fraud, money-laundering and tax offences. He cheated clients of his company Embassy Wine UK out of £300,000 which should have bought wine as an investment. He was banned from acting as a company director until 2026.

Yield Gallery employed Anthony Allen as a salesman. He is banned from being a director until 2031 after his firm Global Neutral sold near-worthless carbon credits as investments. It was ordered into liquidation by the High Court and Allen was described as unfit to be a director. Investors lost £386,000. Insolvency Service investigators found Yield’s accounts were ‘inaccurate’, with suspicions of underpaid VAT and corporation tax.

When they saw its bank accounts for one period, they identified deposits of just over £2million, yet sales brought in £4.2million, which suggested that more than half its income did not go into its bank accounts.

Defiant: According to his solicitor, David Izzard may appeal the court ruling

In 2020, Yield obtained a Covid bounce-back loan of £50,000. To qualify, it needed turnover of at least £200,000, but according to the Insolvency Service its accounts showed a turnover of zero.

Director David Izzard said the loan was legitimate as the accounts were wrong.

But when investigators queried £100,000 the business appeared to owe in tax, he said he was ‘unable to comment on the accuracy of the accounts’.

Edna Okhiria, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: ‘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 Official Receiver has been appointed liquidator and will prepare a report on the conduct of the director.

The Insolvency Service’s court success in shutting Izzard’s company may have a knock-on effect at the Financial Conduct Authority.

The watchdog’s public register shows Izzard is approved by the FCA as the director of Essex firm Loyal Finance.

But company records show he quit in January and signed Loyal Finance over to his daughter Bridie.

She also works for her father’s art business, where her job includes overseeing Yield Gallery’s compliance with money-laundering laws.

The art world is vulnerable to money-laundering and dealers must register – yet the Insolvency Service says the gallery failed to sign up.

Will last Monday’s court case affect Izzard’s FCA approval? A spokesman declined to comment directly about Izzard, but added: ‘We will consider the findings of other regulators and enforcement agencies in deciding whether someone is fit to be approved. We expect the firms we regulate to consider them too.’

The gallery business and its art sales are continuing, still under the name Yield Gallery but owned by another company, YG Group, run by David Izzard.

His solicitor said an appeal may be lodged against the winding up order.

In a letter to the Insolvency Service, the lawyer accused it of suggesting on its website that Yield Gallery has sold works by Banksy and Andy Warhol that are not genuine.

He said unless Insolvency Service officials remove the claim, they may be sued for defamation.

BA owed me over £1,000 for a delayed flight 7 months ago 

B.T. writes: Our British Airways flight last October was delayed 24 hours. BA told us we are due £1,040 as a result. 

We have now supplied our bank details eight times but we have still received nothing.

Inexplicably British Airways never refunded the £1,040 for a delayed flight

Tony Hetherington replies: BA never questioned that your flight was delayed and never questioned that you were entitled to £1,040 to make up for this, but inexplicably the money never reached your Nationwide account. 

After I contacted BA, the airline called you. Someone there had recorded your bank sort code wrongly!

The £1,040 has now landed in your account and BA has given you £400 in Avios points to make up for the delay.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.