Administrators appointed at The Art Academy, the Borough High Street fine-art college founded in 1999

Mark Holborow and Steven Edwards of Crowe UK LLP were appointed joint administrators of The Art Academy, the specialist fine-art college on Borough High Street in London SE1, on 12 May 2026.

The High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts in England and Wales, Insolvency and Companies List, sealed the appointment under case number CR-2026-003689. Administration is a formal insolvency process in which licensed insolvency practitioners take control of a company to rescue it, sell it as a going concern, or realise its assets for creditors. The authorisation was signed on 14 May 2026, and the notice appeared in the London Gazette on 20 May 2026.

The college

The Art Academy was incorporated on 6 July 1999 under the name The Sculpture Academy, changing to its current name in January 2003. It is a private company limited by guarantee, a structure commonly used by charities and not-for-profit educational bodies. Its SIC codes cover post-16 technical and vocational education and higher education, reflecting a curriculum of studio-based fine-art tuition. The academy operates from Mermaid Court, 165A Borough High Street, London SE1.

The most recent accounts filed at Companies House were made up to 31 August 2024. The academy is working to transfer its students to other institutions following the appointment.

The administrators

Holborow holds IP number 22834 and Edwards holds IP number 26090. An IP number is the licence number issued by an insolvency practitioner's recognised professional body, identifying the individual. Both are based at Crowe UK LLP's office at Medway Bridge House, 1-8 Fairmeadow, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1JP. Joint administrators are two or more insolvency practitioners appointed to act together, though either can generally act alone unless the appointment specifies otherwise.

The directors

The directors at the time of the administration notice were Abimbola Oluwakemi Apalara, Amanda Bright, Alan Duncan Custis, Damian Joseph Fennell, Melanie Ruth Clare Gerlis, Timothy James Gledstone, Paul Mulholland and Robert Pepper. Seyed Mohammad Amir Zahedi has served as company secretary since the academy's incorporation in 1999.

Secured lender

National Westminster Bank PLC holds an outstanding registered charge over the academy's premises, created on 15 October 2015. The charge takes the form of a legal mortgage over the freehold interest in 165A Borough High Street, London SE1 1HR (Land Registry title SGL285527) and 169A Borough High Street, London SE1 1HR (Land Registry title SGL318475). A secured creditor is one whose debt is backed by a charge over company assets, placing them ahead of unsecured creditors in any distribution.

For students, suppliers and creditors

Once administrators are appointed, they issue statutory communications and payment instructions to known creditors in due course. Correspondence with the joint administrators is conducted through Crowe UK LLP at the Maidstone address above.

Creditors wishing to establish the amount owed to them do so by submitting a proof of debt, the formal claim form used in insolvency proceedings to record the size of a creditor's claim.

The appointment triggers a moratorium under Schedule B1, paragraph 43 of the Insolvency Act 1986, which pauses most creditor enforcement action. Creditors generally cannot start or continue court proceedings against the academy without the court's permission while the moratorium is in place.

Students who have paid tuition fees or deposits for courses that may not now be delivered rank as unsecured creditors in the administration, sitting behind secured and preferential creditors in the order of distribution. The academy's reported efforts to arrange student transfers may affect the practical outcome for those enrolled.

Employee claims for unpaid wages, notice pay and statutory redundancy are handled as preferential or unsecured claims depending on their nature. The Redundancy Payments Service, operated by the Insolvency Service, processes statutory redundancy payments and certain other employment-related claims where an employer is insolvent.