The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has issued rulings against a trio of unregulated art investment firms over misleading online adverts.

The three art investment firms are not regulated in the UK, with the investigation by the ASA forming part of a wider piece of work on unregulated investments.

The three firms are HER Galleries (trading as Her Fine Art), Artscapy and Woodbury House.

The adverts were identified for investigation following intelligence gathered by the ASA's active ad monitoring system, which uses AI to proactively search for online adverts that might break its rules.

The ASA called the adverts misleading because they did not make clear material information about the risks of the investments and breached the ASA’s CAP Code (which is based on FCA promotion rules) because it did not make clear the value of investments was variable or that past performance did not necessarily give a guide for the future.

The ASA ordered that the adverts must not be broadcast again in their current form.

The HER Galleries advert was a paid-for Facebook ad for Her Fine Art, seen on 23 May 2025. The ad featured a carousel of images with text that stated, “Art is a great investment” and “Start Your Art Investment” next to a “Learn More” tab. Further text stated, “257% RISE IN VALUE”. Smaller text under that said, “This art print by Boogie soared 257%, Acquired for £700 in 2023, Sold for £2,500 in 2025”.

HER Galleries acknowledged the issued and said future ads would include the relevant information.

Two complaints against Artscapy were also upheld. A paid-for Google ad for Artscapy, an art investment company, seen on 6 May featured the title “Make your first art investment – Join 7,000+ happy collectors” and contained the text “Insider investment opportunities and personalised wealth-building advice. The end-to-end investment account: from acquisition to return”.

Artscapy said it was not aware that they needed to explicitly state that art investment was unregulated within the UK and said they would revise their advertising.

The two upheld complaints against Woodbury House releated to two paid-for Google search adverts seen on 23 May.

The first advert contained the title “Free 2025 Art Investment Guide” and the text “Learn Art Investment Secrets – Unlock expert advice with the free 2025 Art Investment Guide […] insights, tops and strategies for smart collectors. High Potential Growth”. The ad contained various links at the bottom, including “Master Art Investment in 2025” and “Invest in Art with Confidence”.

The second advert contained the title “Master Art Investment in 2025 Free 2025 Art Investment…” and text that stated “Unlock expert advice with the free 2025 Art Investment Guide […] insights, tops and strategies for smart collectors. High Potential Growth”.

Woodbury House said they were a private art gallery and specialised in helping collectors acquire original paintings by historically important street and graffiti artists. They said their service was rooted in culture and not finance, and that they sold artworks and not financial products, and did not offer or promote any regulated investment opportunities. They agreed to include a visible disclaimer on any future adverts, should their advertising reference investment.

The ASA is the body responsible for dealing with complaints about advertising content which it deems to be irresponsible or misleading. It has the power to order that an advert must not be broadcast or published again in its current format.