Grove Gallery Reviews 

James Thomas approached me about some opportunities for investments around about 3 to 6 months ago. I’ve since trusted James by investing in a few pieces and he’s walked me through the process of how investing in art works.

James’s communication has been absolutely outstanding and I have had several conversation conversations with him since my original. He even came to visit me and my hometown which is at least a two hour train journey away.

I would highly rate Grove gallery and indeed James Thomas if you’re an investor looking to get involved in art

(Review of 10 June, revised on 14 Jun to remain within Trustpilot’s prescribed characters limit and also to reflect a response to GG’s reply on 11 June 2025)

Would you entrust your money to a gallery led by a founder who sets an example in rude, abusive behaviour with clients, and his team repeatedly misleads you? I made my first investment in art through GG last year, and their shocking conduct is evident from:

- Lack of intent in selling the pieces over several months
- Repeatedly revising their valuation of a £5k piece I bought from them 5 times in 6 months from £28K to £8K. Ironically, they publicised 3-4 successful auctions of works from the same artist for £20-50K. Even then, they remain in breach of contract by not paying me £8k under a Confirmation of Sale signed by them on 22-May-25.
- Avoiding responding to emails for weeks, especially since Feb’25 when I told them I want out.
- Their CEO’s conduct, who spoke to me for the first time in June 2025 and stooped to abusive language (sample the language here), calling me “a piece of c**p,” “an idiot,” and “an epitome of greed”. He also suggested mockingly that I could ‘write a crying review all you want’; he didn’t “f** care”; and added “Dealing with people like you gives me an er**t**n.”

Below is a chronology of events based on my first-hand experience with GG, dealing with Mr. Sam Bright (Sr. Art Consultant), Mr. Lindor M (Gallery Mgr.) and Mr. James Ryan (CEO).

July 2024: Paid £7,000 to GG for 2 artworks (1) An original artwork for £5k by a female artist GG works with, and (2) A set of 4 Andy Warhol posters for £2k (£5k piece & £2k piece, respectively).

Dec’24-Jan’25: Enquired about valuation & potential sale of the £5k piece, and was introduced to Sam, who I told clearly my intention to sell these pieces before doing more business. Sam suggested the £5k piece being valued at ~£28K and revised it to £20k for a fire sale in the same meeting. GG also confirmed there was no sale restriction on the 2 pieces I own, however, they’d prefer being given the first opportunity to sell, to which I have agreed. Sam also promised to find a buyer for the £2k piece within days.

Feb-Mar 2025: 3 weeks passed: no update. In late Feb, Sam revised the quote to £10k for the £5k piece, and had the piece collected on 3 March from my home, ostensibly for a pre-sale condition assessment, only to revert in early April that the sale fell through! Ironically on 3 April, GG reported another work by the same artist auctioned for ~£50k. Silence continued on selling the £2k piece.

Apr-May 2025: Having waited over three months of inaction & fake promises, I asked GG to return the £5k piece and reached out to an Auction House to explore sale of the £2k piece on my own. Sam now proposed that GG will showcase the £5k piece at their new gallery opening in Mallorca, aiming for a sale by 15 May, only to come back with an even lower offer to sell at £8k. I called GG’s bluff again by agreeing to this price, after which Sam advised that funds have been received on 20 May.

21 May 2025: The £2k piece sold for £850 at the auction (~60% loss), after 4 months of silence/effort on GG’s part.

22 May -5 June 2025: GG sent a signed Confirmation of Sale (CoS) for £8K payable to me, which I signed and returned the same day (22 May). After 13 days of non-payment, GG then resorted to a WhatsApp call (June 3) where GG CEO James turned abusive (as described earlier), reversing the ‘sale’ and asking Sam to return the artwork to me. Seeing GG didn’t intend to honour the signed CoS, I took possession of the £5k piece.

I strongly recommend staying away; if they can’t sell their own £5k work nor honour a signed sale document – what’s the point?

Update of 14 June: Reply to GG’s response on 11-Jun.

• Thanks to the GG CEO for confirming his choice of words mentioned in my original review. NOTHING justifies abusive language in ANY industry. This only reaffirms the need for my review for a wide set of readers.
• GG speaks of a 60% return, starting with a claim of 460% return not 6 months earlier (better to overcommit & underdeliver, no?). And did GG deliver even on that £8k after signing a CoS? Where’s the payment? For the record, I am ok with a 10-15% return just fine, PROVIDED IT IS DELIVERED.
• Readers should also consider this: wouldn’t a genuine buyer insist with GG on delivery of the work having already paid for it, as Sam claimed on 20 May? No need for an expert or an ‘art guru’ to answer this.
• My sale of the £2k piece was a ‘stop-loss’ action, a well-known concept.
• Lastly- I categorically deny CEO’s claim - the so-called 12:49am was a mis-dialled number (WhatsApp log available) cancelled within a second on 8 June, well after the CEO’s ‘colourful’ monologue of June 3 and me collecting the piece on June 5.

I have to start this by admitting I NEVER leave reviews however in this instance I feel I need to.
I recently came across Grove Gallery via social media and immediately saw a piece I would like to purchase. Problem was it was going to be tricky to get it in 1 piece to me in Australia but then came Matt to save the day; the whole process of the sale right from the very first call, he kept me involved and updated, even taking the extra effort of sending it from one destination to another locally to be sure the packing would work.
As a collector of contemporary art I can wholeheartedly recommend Matt and the Grove Gallery team. Oh, and yes it’s here in Australia hanging in our home - IN ONE PIECE!

I purchased two pictures with Matthew for my husbands 50th birthday.
Matthew was incredibly helpful and very kindly hand delivered them to me.

I have had a great experience entering into the galleries investment portfolio, and have found it to be an easy transition into investing in art from stocks and bonds. I trust my investment will be always an option over gold and bitcoin from this point of on., due to the unique opportunities this gallery offers.

I usually invest in property, so stepping into the art world felt completely new to me. But thanks to James Thomas at Grove Gallery, I now understand just how similar the two can be. The way he explained everything made perfect sense — art investment is almost like owning real estate on your wall.

James was incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and clear. He broke down the value of art as an asset class in a way that was easy to grasp, and there was no pressure at any stage — just honest, insightful advice tailored to my goals. The whole process of getting started through their advisory service was smooth and well-structured.

If you’re someone who’s curious about diversifying into art but don’t know where to begin, I couldn’t recommend James and the team at Grove Gallery highly enough.

- Molly Silverthorne

Matthew was brilliant, friendly but also knowledgeable, he made the whole process easy and enjoyable.

Great item, fantastic service. Would definitely recommend!

Beautiful artwork and an excellent and friendly service. I’ll be using Grove Gallery again

Every time I visit the gallery, there’s always something fresh and inspiring on display. They consistently showcase incredible talent, and I always leave having discovered something new.

What stands out is how intentional they are, they’ve clearly built a thoughtful process to connect with artists and hand-select the best. From customer service to overall experience, including their investment strategy! they’re truly leading the way.

I mean, who knew you could get a rental income from art?

I bought a piece that I was unsure of when it arrived, nothing wrong with it just that seeing a piece online and in the flesh can be different. The returns process and subsequent purchase of another piece was a fun and engaging process. The personal touch lead to me getting a piece of art that I love and will get a lot of pleasure from.

Just bought my first piece, a small Zara Muse. A big thanks to the team in inducting me into the world of fine art investment and a special thanks to Lindor Mehmetaj for guiding me through the process in an honest and friendly manner. For any other newbies looking to dip their feet in fine art investment, I’d only recommend this gallery.

Love my Frank Canvas print - framed in my snug and it's beautiful quality.

I love this company. The art is fantastic. I’d invested but had to sell quickly. David Peel gave me a time scale. He was very professional and knowledgeable. The painting sold and the monies were in my bank the same day. The whole experience has been outstanding.

Love the print and appreciated the follow up call after delivery.

Amazing service from Grove, from my initial purchase through to their installation service.

Made the process feel special and exciting! I’m delighted with my new piece and will return to expand my collection. Thanks guys

Great customer service, with a follow up call after purchase to check I was happy. Very pleased with everything & will certainly recommend to others as well as purchase in the future should the opportunity arise.
Thanks very much.

Delighted with my purchase from Grove Gallery, Matthew and the team have been great to deal with. Now that I'm on the mailing list I'm looking forward to future conversations and my next purchase.

I recently purchased a piece of art from The Grove Gallery by Frank Canvas. The piece spoke for itself but the service from the gallery was amazing. Follow up phone call and emails inviting me to upcoming coming events sets The Grove apart. Thank you Charlotte for your excellent service.

With the help of Grove Gallery, I sold one piece at a decent profit, and bought into a new artist. The opportunity was explained very clearly to me, and the execution was made so easy. Many thanks to all at Grove.