Personal asset lender borro has revealed that it has recently taken possession of an Oscar statuette in return for a loan of £43,000 ($70,000).

This is the first time an iconic Oscar statuette has been seen in the vaults.

Borro is seeing an increasing number of high net worth individuals seeking a liquidity solution. These are customers who, over the years have built up an array of valuable and unique assets, which are sometimes just left in attics or in garages, gathering dust and not fulfilling their full value.

Paul Aitken, CEO and founder of borro, said: “Over the last five years we’ve seen a huge increase in wealthy individuals using their personal assets as collateral for loans, however the Oscar statuette is a first for us.

“As with all our loans – especially those on highly unique and identifiable assets – client confidentiality is of utmost importance, and so the award-winner in question here remains a secret.”

Sarah Hodgson, adviser to borro, added: “Any Oscar from before 1951 is owned by the individual who won it. Post 1951 it belongs to the academy, therefore only pre 1951 Oscars can be highly attractive on the open market.”

In 2012, Herman Mankiewicz’s statuette for best screenplay, which he won for co-writing the 1941 film Citizen Kane was sold for $588,455.