Wedlake Bell Insights

    • Insights
    • Nov 12, 2025

    The seven-minute heist: What the Louvre robbery teaches us about lending

    Protecting an object via the terms of the loan agreement A well-drafted loan agreement prescribes exactly how the object is handled and protected both during transport and after arrival at the institution. The agreement may specify who can handle the

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    • In Trust
    • Jun 11, 2025

    Art and inheritance tax: Reforms and reliefs

    The changes outlined in the Budget are due to come into effect from 6 April 2026, and in the form they are suggested, they will restrict BPR relief to 50% on BPR qualifying assets over £1 million. This means an

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    • Insights
    • May 15, 2025

    New financial sanctions reporting obligations – What the art market needs to know

    Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) expands the list of “relevant firms” subject to financial sanctions reporting requirements to include high value dealers and art market participants. OFSI has issued updated guidance in its role in helping businesses comply with

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    • Insights
    • May 13, 2025

    The battle for sunken treasures: Restitution’s next frontier

    Shipwrecks in the Caribbean and South America, filled with valuable cargo, remain unclaimed or are salvaged by private companies, with former colonial powers often asserting ownership. Why is the restitution of underwater cultural heritage so far behind that of land-based

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    • Insights
    • Feb 9, 2024

    Tim Maxwell and Petra Warrington author article in ‘the times’ on post-colonial claims and the complexities of negotiating returns of art and cultural property

    Post-colonial claims have exploded in recent years, partly because information is becoming more accessible, but also because moral and ethical considerations have become harder to ignore. In this article for The Times, Partner Tim Maxwell and Senior Associate Petra Warrington

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    • Insights
    • Feb 1, 2024

    Senior associate quoted in the Financial Times – Rediscovered klimt painting tells a tale of post-war restitution

    Last week, it was revealed that a recently rediscovered painting by Gustav Klimt, “Portrait of Fräulein Lieser” (1917), will be sold at the Viennese auction house Im Kinsky, in Vienna, in April. Senior Associate Petra Warrington has been quoted by

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