Feral Horses: Fractional Ownership Platform for Contemporary Art

Feral Horses, a startup founded in 2014 and launched in 2017 by an Italian-French team, is the first online platform allowing users to buy fractional shares of contemporary artworks and trade them. The team includes Francesco Bellanca (CEO), Christian De Martin (CFO), Lise Arlot (CMO), and Romano Oliveri (Art Director). Artworks are sold directly by artists or galleries as shares at a fixed price. In the primary market, a target number of shares must be sold within a set period; if met, Feral Horses validates the sale, takes possession, and rents the work to companies, hotels, and restaurants. Rental profits are distributed to investors proportionally. A secondary market enables investors to trade shares like stocks. Bellanca stated that rental contracts of 6-12 months ensure constant visibility for artists and allow investors to earn steady returns, reducing risk. Artists can retain a percentage of ownership to benefit from rental income and future sales. The platform aims to make art investment accessible to all, with a minimum investment of £5, targeting millennials seeking micro-investments. Feral Horses works directly with young, living artists or galleries to guarantee authenticity. Each artist is vetted based on background, influencing share pricing. In summer 2017, the startup sold 17 works by 9 European artists in 60 days and opened its first temporary gallery.