Imtech bankruptcy uncovers €2 million art collection

The administrators working on the bankruptcy of Royal Imtech has stumbled across an art collection in the estate with an insurance value of 1.7 million euros. The works will be valued and sold.

This is according to both the Financieele Dagblad and the Volkskrant. The FD called the collection a "well kept secret". A specialist in corporate collections told the newspaper that Imtech never mentioned the collection. It is only ever mentioned in the book Bedrijven Verzamelen, Businesses Collection in English.

The bankrupt company's website states that the collection dates back to 1960. The then director Willem Nagelkerke decided to permanently display his private collection in business spaces in an effort to introduce his employees to art. The employees were so enthusiastic about this, that the board eventually decided to turn the private collection into a corporate collection and extend it.

The collection consists of paintings, etchings and other works of arts by a number of artists, including Karel Appel, Corneille and Ritz van Kooten, according to RTL Nieuws. They are mainly displayed in the Imtech premises, and were occasionally loaned out for exhibitions.

The exact worth of the collection will only become clear after all the works have been valued. According to the Volkskrant, the collection was insured for 1.7 million euros.