Live Company pleased with progress at Start Art investment

Live Company Group updated the market on progress with its minority investment in Start Art Global (StART) on Thursday, confirming that the platform formally went live in October.

The AIM-traded firm said revenues to date totalled more than $0.2m.

Operationally, it said that the company was “functioning well” with its international shipping contract with DHL, adding that the purchase of ‘StART Fair’ and ‘StART+’ allowed the group to “marry the physical with the digital” by letting artists show their work, sell it online and deliver to customers globally.

It said that StART+ at ARX in Brompton Road, London, which provided a chance to further showcase the group’s non-fungible tokens (NFTs), had proved to be “extremely popular” and had thus been extended by an additional six months.

The ninth edition of the StART Fair was currently in planning for 2022, with additional live exhibitions also being planned in the StART+ space.

In Korea, meanwhile, a second StART+ was planned in Seoul for January, which the company said would showcase ‘K-pop’ artworks and limited editions.

Additionally, a joint venture to market NFTs in Korea was currently being negotiated, while further art fairs were planned both in Korea and elsewhere in Asia in 2022.

“I am delighted with the progress of StART and believe that LVCG's investment will be value accretive for the group as the StART team begin to deliver an ambitious strategy across the physical and virtual art space,” said chairman David Ciclitira.

“The world is content hungry right now both for virtual and in person experiences, which StART delivers.

“Furthermore, the world-class technology they are developing is something which may have revenue generating opportunities within the group itself including LCSE.”

At 1328 GMT, shares in Live Company Group were down 5% at 2.95p.