BJM Recovery Ltd

Documented Case

Smith & Partner Limited

A London art investment firm entered liquidation, after which the joint liquidators brought High Court proceedings against connected individuals and companies to recover assets for creditors.

Investment type
Art investment portfolios
Documented investor losses
Liquidators' High Court claim concerned sums reported at around $11m
Date / period
Liquidators appointed August 2023; High Court judgment 4 October 2024
Relevant organisation
High Court (Chancery Division) / joint liquidators
Nature of the matter
Insolvency and civil recovery proceedings
All case studies

The investment

Smith & Partner Limited (company number 09808427) was a London-based firm that sold artworks to retail buyers as an investment, presenting itself as an art investment specialist.

What investors were told

Buyers were told that works were properly sourced and fairly valued, that they would appreciate, and in some cases that resale or buy-back arrangements would be available.

What went wrong

The company entered liquidation, with the appointment of joint liquidators notified in The Gazette on 1 August 2023. The liquidators subsequently issued High Court proceedings against connected individuals and companies, alleging that the business had operated fraudulently.

Investor impact

The claims brought by the liquidators concerned sums reported at approximately $11m. Individual investor positions fall to be dealt with as creditor claims in the liquidation.

Regulatory, insolvency and court action

Judgment was handed down in Piacquadio and O'Hara (Joint Liquidators of Smith & Partner Ltd) v Sparkes and Zeno Fine Art Ltd [2024] EWHC 2518 (Ch) on 4 October 2024, before the Chancellor of the High Court.

Current documented position

Recovery litigation for the benefit of creditors was continuing as at the October 2024 judgment.

Key Lesson

Liquidators' civil recovery proceedings can begin years after a firm stops trading. Investors who register as creditors and monitor Gazette and court filings preserve their position; those who do nothing often miss distributions.

Source & Further Information

  • Piacquadio & Anor v Sparkes & Anor [2024] EWHC 2518 (Ch)

    High Court of Justice, Chancery Division (BAILII) — published 4 October 2024

    View the official source

These case studies summarise matters recorded in public sources including FCA publications, Insolvency Service and Serious Fraud Office material on GOV.UK, court judgments and the Companies House register. They are provided for information only, are not legal advice, and do not describe work carried out by BJM Recovery Ltd for any client. Where an investigation or set of proceedings remains open, the position stated is the position recorded at the date of the cited source.

BJM Recovery Ltd

How We Approach Investment Loss Cases

Every investment recovery matter is assessed individually. The circumstances of the investment, the available evidence, the parties involved and the applicable recovery process will determine the appropriate course of action.

Our starting point in any matter is the documentation. We reconstruct the investment chronologically from agreements, payment records, statements, correspondence and marketing material, and we establish precisely which entities and individuals were involved at each stage, and in what capacity.

We then examine what is on the public record: the Companies House position, any insolvency appointments, regulatory publications, enforcement action and court proceedings. Public records frequently determine which routes remain open, whether that is a creditor claim in an insolvency, a claim against a regulated party in the advice or pension chain, participation in a distribution administered by a regulator, or civil proceedings.

Where a matter has been formally referred to us, we deal with the referring organisation directly and work within the process that applies to that referral.

If you have lost money through an investment that has failed, become insolvent or stopped communicating, we can review the information available and set out the position clearly.

Have you experienced something similar?

Investment losses can be complex and every situation is different. If you have lost money through an investment that has failed, become insolvent or stopped communicating, our team can assess the information available and discuss the potential next steps.

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