LONDON.- Scholium Group plc, the AIM listed, Mayfair-based company which specialises in rare books and other works on paper, today announced the launch of a new subsidiary business. Called Scholium Trading, it will trade alongside other dealers and auctioneers in the high value end of the more general rare and collectible goods market, offering support in acquisitions from £100,000 to £1m.

Philip Blackwell, CEO, says: “Access to supportive and knowledgeable capital is often highly problematic for dealers, who typically run very tight cash balances. They can go to banks, but short- term loans, if available at all, can be costly. Therefore many dealers struggle trading in items in which they have expertise and potential buyers.

“Scholium Trading, which has the speed to transact and money to invest now, has been set up to solve this problem. Being dealers ourselves, we are willing to take the type of risks that others can’t or simply won’t take. We are prepared to be very flexible with our approach, discretely taking a minority or majority stake.”

While Scholium Group’s established expertise is in rare books and other works on paper, its trading arm is happy to embrace anything that falls within the parameters of the fine art and collectibles world, including paintings, sculptures, arms and armoury, ceramics, furniture and silverware. “Most deals possess the same dynamic,” Blackwell adds. “So we are happy to rely on the specific expertise of the dealers, all of whom will have considerable track records of success and experience in their chosen fields.”

Bernard Shapero, the founder and CEO of Shapero Rare Books, one of the companies owned by the Scholium Group, concurs. “We’re very keen to work with people who we know or we know by reputation, but we are equally excited about hearing from dealers across the UK who have something special and require a helping hand.”

Shapero adds: “I’m well aware of the frustration of missing out on a deal purely because of a funding gap. In January, before Scholium Group floated, Shapero Rare Books was offered a wonderful selection of books which we were unable to buy outright. Normally we would have got together with a group of other dealers and split all profits equally, whether or not they participated in the sale. Instead we entered into an agreement with a friendly partner that meant we were able to buy the books and keep a significant amount of the profit. That is exactly where Scholium Trading comes into play.”