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Market change prompts HFC to withdraw from loans scheme
06/03/2007
A change in the marketplace has been cited as the reason for HFC bank pulling out of Scotland's first art loans scheme, it has emerged.
From May 6th, HFC will no longer fund the Own Art programme, meaning it must find a new backer, reports the Herald.
It will be left to the Scottish Arts Council to find a replacement patron for the initiative that encourages people to purchase pieces of contemporary art with interest-free loans between £100 and £2,000.
The newspaper indicates that the majority of sales made via the loans scheme were to new customers, while the artists themselves had benefited financially from the programme.
"Because of a market shift and a change in the marketplace, it has been decided that we will withdraw from a number of partnerships with smaller parties," said the bank's spokesman.
"The decision means we will now be very much concentrating on deals with larger retailers."
From May 6th, HFC will no longer fund the Own Art programme, meaning it must find a new backer, reports the Herald.
It will be left to the Scottish Arts Council to find a replacement patron for the initiative that encourages people to purchase pieces of contemporary art with interest-free loans between £100 and £2,000.
The newspaper indicates that the majority of sales made via the loans scheme were to new customers, while the artists themselves had benefited financially from the programme.
"Because of a market shift and a change in the marketplace, it has been decided that we will withdraw from a number of partnerships with smaller parties," said the bank's spokesman.
"The decision means we will now be very much concentrating on deals with larger retailers."