View of Deborah Roberts's exhibition "If they come," 2019, at Stephen Friedman.Mark Blower

London Dealer Stephen Friedman Owes $10.6 M. to Dozens of Creditors, Including Artists Deborah Roberts and Kehinde Wiley

by · ARTnews

London-based gallery Stephen Friedman is in debt to the tune of some $10.6 million, according to official documents. Its creditors include a real estate owner, a bank, and an art logistics company as well as several well-known artists. The debts are indicated in an official filing by its administrators on Companies House, reported earlier by the Art Newspaper. 

“A proposal to deal with the financial fallout from the London- and New York-based gallery’s closure in February was submitted by the insolvency practitioners FRP Advisory on 30 March and approved on 22 April,” notes the newspaper.

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The gallery is in debt by the largest amounts to Coutts & Co. bank, which it owes £3.2 million ($4.3 million), and London-based multinational investors Pentland Group Ltd., which is due £1.4 million ($1.9 million). The latter owns sports brand Speedo and is a majority stakeholder in retailer JD Sports. Alison Mosheim, a director of Pentland, owns 50 percent of the gallery, per the filing.

The gallery is on the hook to the UK’s tax, payments and customs authority for some £550,000 ($750,813). It owes the Pollen Estate, which leased the gallery’s Cork Street showroom, £505,114 ($689,531). Friedman is on the hook to art logistics company Crozier for some £256,740 ($350,400).

Thee prominent artists are owed considerable sums: Alexander Diop is due £341,905 ($466,663), Deborah Roberts £289,232 ($394,718), and Kehinde Wiley £163,849 ($223,456).

Another major creditor is New York law firm Clarick Gueron Reisbaum, which is due £165,004 ($225,031). Friedman also owes smaller sums to art fairs including Frieze and Art Basel.

There were signs of trouble when Friedman closed his New York gallery in November after just two years. The dealer then abruptly closed his London space and entered insolvency proceedings in February, just days after ARTnews reported that the gallery had pulled out at the last minute from a coveted spot at the inaugural Art Basel Qatar.

The gallery employed 27 in the UK and five in the US, who are cumulatively owed about £39,000 (approximately $53,000), and will be paid in full, reports the Art Newspaper.