Simon Lee Gallery Enters Court-Ordered External Management Following Financial Difficulties

Following financial difficulties, London-based Simon Lee Gallery has been placed under joint administration with the business advisory firm BDO LLP, meaning that the gallery is facing insolvency and its business and property is now being managed by the firm which will create a plan for the gallery to pay back its debts.

The court-ordered administration was reported Wednesday by The Art Newspaper, which spotted a notice from BDO LLP concerning the administration in the window of the gallery.

“Matthew Tait, Christine Francis and Danny Dartnaill of BDO LLP were appointed Joint Administrators of the Company on 11th July 2023,” the notice read. “The affairs, business, and property of the Company are being managed by the Joint Administrators.”

The first signs that the gallery was facing financial issues came when Venice Biennale artist Sonia Boyce left the gallery in June after only two years. While it wasn’t made clear why Boyce left, at the time The Art Newspaper contextualized the departure as a result of the gallery’s mounting financial difficulties. The Companies House, an executive agency of the British Government that maintains the register of companies, had moved to forcibly dissolve Simon Lee over a tax dispute.

The gallery had also gone through an insolvency hearing in April and was scheduled to have its second on July 12, though it appears the the decision to go into administration prevented that hearing from taking place.

It’s unclear how or if the gallery will continue to operate through this administration process. Neither Simon Lee Gallery of BDO LLP have responded to requests for comment. It’s unclear how Simon Lee Gallery’s roster of artists, which includes George Condo, Daido Moriyama, and Christopher Wool, will be affected.