ART BUFFET FOR BUSINESS WORLD

Art-Switch provides art for Morgan Sindall Investments new offices

Like many companies moving into new offices, Morgan Sindall Investments faced numerous problems to source artwork.

They wanted to avoid commitment of purchased artwork and the risk of wasted sunk cost, given they were unsure of what they wanted and risk "if they were going to get fed up with it" says Coralie Geneve.

As reported in FT Wealth magazine (Spring 2008), "most bankers worry that the art market is opaque, illiquid and unpredictable." Indeed many are instinctively aware that the art market is very risky and can even be a dirty business - art market professionals and consultants keep it this way as it plays to their advantage.

For just £1 per day, Art-Switch provided them the perfect solution, enabling them to borrow original fine artwork, which they can switch at will, so that corporate image is never compromised while they can keep refreshing the space.

Enjoying art in this way has had a very positive effect on staff morale. Excitement to see the new art is always high when new artwork comes in. She says "We had a big reception about six months ago and for that we wanted fresh paintings as well and so we switched just for that occasion."

So Morgan Sindall has avoided the risk of sunk costs from poorly chosen and redundant unwanted artwork but still has the option to buy artwork from the Art-switch library at transparent prices driven by the popularity of the artwork in the library.

Watch her speak on a Reuters TV news bulletin about Art-Switch