Esteemed Art Entrepreneur, Olyvia Kwok, to launch new strategic advisory art business

London-based art entrepreneur Olyvia Kwok is to launch Bruton + Co, a new type of art business stretching beyond traditional dealership and advisory models, instead acting as a strategic partner to those looking to buy and invest in art in the ever-changing art market.

Located in Bruton Street, Mayfair, just across the street from the apartment where Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was born, the business will have an office with a large double showroom on the first floor. The premises will open on 12th June.

Bruton + Co represents a new business model, both for Kwok and for the art market as a whole. It is not a gallery, nor is it an art dealership, but instead will offer a partnership relationship with collectors and investors as well as management services to up-and-coming artists who are judged to have strong commercial prospects.

Bruton + Co offers extensive services covering all aspects of art investment, including estate planning, portfolio management, auction structuring, and even advice on using art to hedge currency. It also offers access to distressed situations through strong relationships with lawyers and receivers, allowing its clients to access rare buying opportunities not found elsewhere.

The showroom will host invitation-only exhibitions by world-renowned curators, collectors, and private estates, allowing clients to make lucrative investments whilst enjoying it on the wall. In addition, it will function as a venue for collaborative events and get-togethers, with the aim of connecting the art and finance industries. Guest lists will extend beyond the traditional art crowd, and these events will seek to encourage financial entities such as private banks and hedge funds to invest more in art and form partnerships with those in the art world.

Says founder and CEO Kwok: “Now is the time to bridge the gap between generational collectors with extensive experience in the art market, and the new buyers that are emerging from the major transfers of wealth which we see right now, between both generations and industries. There has been a major uptake in investment in art as an alternative asset by a new generation of buyers, and Bruton + Co caters to this new demographic, guiding new buyers and investors as well as those who have been in the market for a long time. We adapt to the needs of individual clients, offering a distinctive tailored approach.

“I have been in the art business for over 20 years and there isn’t a single aspect of it that I haven’t been involved with. I was a gallerist in London’s St James’s district when I was 23; I started the Asian Contemporary trend; I built the first emerging markets art fund, which provided an extraordinary return for this ‘emotional asset class’. Then I moved into Pop Art (Warhol, etc.) just before it ‘popped’”, smiles Kwok. “I have made a lot of money for my investors over the years. After, when the market started to shift, I brought many museum quality postwar and impressionist paintings to Asia. Unfortunately, due to industry changes, some are now in liquidation, and that’s how I have identified another angle of selling art works directly from receivers.

“I launched an art lending fund [using blue-chip artworks as collateral for loans] in 2014, before anyone took art lending seriously. And I was a pioneer of the use of art guarantees as an investment tool for high-net-worth clients. Throughout the years I have always had a ‘go big or go home’ mentality, and now I feel it’s time to double down.

“Now is the time to capitalise on the exciting new market which we find ourselves in, and I believe that Bruton + Co is a step ahead in offering an entirely new business model designed to fit the changes we see.

“Crypto and tech billionaires were newcomers, but are now driving the market. I see a huge market opportunity, particularly given our global reach. Buying art is an excellent way to mitigate financial risk, such as the vast geopolitical and currency based risks that we are seeing in the US and Asia.

“While more than eleven thousand millionaires chose to leave the UK in 2024 because of changes in taxation policy, I intend to remain and double down on London. I believe that the UK will follow the European political trend and focus on the importance of contributing to economic growth. I think that those with significant wealth who have recently left the UK will soon be back.

“In the next 12 months, we will be announcing our Asia locations, followed by a US location. Our business model will function as a franchise, which is new for the industry. We will be releasing more details very soon.

“I am ready to begin this new chapter in my life, to create a bridge between what went before and what is yet to come. For me, this is not just a business, it’s part of me. That is my ethos and that is what I live by.”