Tag: 2014

Taking the Tito

Ex-Marshal Tito Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Landaulet for sale for staggering sum 1,598% higher than similar examples owned by other dictators

“Benevolent communist dictator” Marshal Josip Tito, 1^st President of Yugoslavia (1892 – 1980) had use of a Boeing 727 plane, a private train and a 55-foot yacht but now the 1971 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman ‘Presidential Landaulet’ he travelled around in from 1971 to 1980 is for sale for the staggering sum of £2.5 million ($3.1 million, €2.9 million or درهم11.4 million) through Tom Hartley Jnr. in Derbyshire, England.

Tito with the car in the background

Tito used to take his dog for rides in the vehicle

And apparently he used to shave in it too

Capable of achieving 0 mph to 100 mph in 10 seconds, this 2.5-tonne, 6.3-litre limousine was built to Tito’s personal specification. The ‘dictator-mobile’s’ bespoke features numbered not only a drinks cabinet but also a shaving kit in its rear centre console and despite having covered 17,012 miles and having passed through various owners, is in remarkably good condition.

Justifying the punchy price sought, in November 2016, Tom Hartley Jnr. told Car Dealer magazine:

“I’ve always been in love with the car. It’s a very significant and very important car – all of the Landaulets are, and only nine of them were built in the long roof, six-door configuration. Of those nine, this is probably regarded as the most original, the most unmolested car and it also has great provenance”.

A 1965 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman owned by China’s Foreign Minister, Chen Yi, sold for just £147,200 ($182,800, €172,500 or درهم671,400) in 2014 whilst just £225,000 ($279,400, €263,700 or درهم1.03 million) was sought for a 1977 example originally owned by Bokassa I of Central Africa in 2015.

Naturally, the needs of drinkers was a prime consideration when it came to bespoke fittings

Luxurious rear seating

The glass partition between the passengers and the driver

The driver’s seating

And hood down

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with Tito in 1972

April 10, 2017
Billionaire Battersea

Historic Battersea mansion for sale for the same sum it was marketed for in 2011; it has been mostly empty throughout the intervening period and was renovated by the late billionaire Malcolm Forbes

Billionaire publisher Malcolm Forbes was a man who liked to live large. He had a huge yacht named The Highlander, threw lavish parties across the globe and counted Gianni Agnelli, Gordon Getty, Calvin Klein, Robert Maxwell, Rupert Murdoch, Henry Kissinger, Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump as friends. This “mysterious collector” also owned numerous residences and one of these, Old Battersea House in London, is for sale for the same sum as it was marketed for in 2011.

Often seen with Elizabeth Taylor at his side and described as “living life in the fabulous”, Forbes purchased Old Battersea House in 1971. It had previously been home to and saved from demolition by Battersea Council by the eccentric author and ghost hunter Wilhemina Stirling. She took up a lifetime tenancy on the building in 1931 and used it to house artworks by her sister, Evelyn de Morgan (1855 – 1919).

Businessman and publisher Malcolm S. Forbes (1919 – 1990) with seven times married actress Dame Elizabeth Taylor DBE (1932 – 2011) at his lavish 70th birthday party at the Palais Mendoub, Tangier, Morocco in 1989

Old Battersea House, 30 Vicarage Crescent, Battersea, London, SW11 3LD, United Kingdom

A. M. D. Wilhemina Stirling (1865 – 1965) owned the house prior to Malcolm Forbes

Christopher ‘Kip’ Forbes (born 1951) assisted his father restore Old Battersea House and later oversaw the family selling its art collection in 2003 and 2009

Grade II* listed since 1954 and adapted during Forbes and subsequently his son Kip’s ownership to showcase a vast collection of Victorian art and antiques, Old Battersea House was built on Tudor foundations in 1699 and was at first known as ‘Terrace House’. It originally had gardens extending down to the River Thames and is rumoured to have been designed by Sir Christopher Wren (1632 – 1723).

Featuring “handsome classical proportions throughout” and standing within a 110-foot wide walled garden, the 10,100 square foot house includes 4 reception rooms, 10 double bedrooms and 7 bathrooms. It has off-street parking and a garden store but it is sadly overlooked by the adjoining housing estate that was built in its grounds in the 1930s.

Savills seek £12 million ($15 million, €14 million or درهم54.9 million) for Old Battersea House.

The impressive hallway of Old Battersea House

Another entertaining space

Elizabeth Taylor and her then husband Larry Fortensky at Old Battersea House in 1992

Images of the house as it was furnished during the ownership of the Forbes family

April 6, 2017
Dining without Toto

Former Toto’s site in Lennox Gardens Mews, Knightsbridge to become a “contemporary Japanese” restaurant named Dinings

In April 2014, just off Walton Street in Knightsbridge’s Lennox Gardens Mews, Toto’s prepared to reopen after a £3 million makeover at the behest of a new Indian owner. In spite of serving the most delicious Italian food, its slightly off-piste location proved difficult and it again closed in early 2016. Now, after remaining empty for some time, this former artist’s studio is set to become a “contemporary Japanese restaurant”.

First mentioned by the lifestyle app Urbanologie earlier this week, Dinings, the Japanese tapas and sushi restaurant that has taken the site, already has an outpost in Marylebone and describes its offering as “a new style of Izakaya; Japanese tapas which combines traditional Japanese with modern European cuisine”.

The restaurant is due to open on 16^th May and will feature two dining bars and a ten cover sushi counter. Its interior has been designed by David d’Almada of Sagrada – a man whose previous commissions include The Arts Club on Dover Street and Sartoria on Savile Row – and, in spite of many recent closures in the area due to soaring rates and rents, we wish the new operators all the best in their venture.

Image depicts the restaurant and garden as it was in 2014.

April 6, 2017
Over-Engineered

Essex “neo Georgian Palladian” residence created from an ordinary detached house marketed for £5.4 million; it is a bit of a mish-mash and described as “over-engineered”

Estate agents normally wax lyrical about properties they are marketing but in the case of £5.4 million ($6.7 million, €6.3 million or درهم24.8million) Threshers House at Threshers Bush, near Harlow in Essex, Beresfords bizarrely go as far as to describe it as “over-engineered”.

Situated on a plot of 11.5 acres and redeveloped and extended since 2010 by an “award winning builder” named Paul Pickering, the 7,409 square foot main residence offered is described as being “neo Georgian Palladian” in style. Given such an architectural period doesn’t exist as a sole entity, it is a bit of a mish-mash but given the new building is an improvement on the plain house that it has been created from, one can be forgiving of the result.

The old Threshers House, Hobbs Cross Road, Threshers Bush, Harlow, Essex, CM17 0NP

The new Threshers House, Hobbs Cross Road, Threshers Bush, Harlow, Essex, CM17 0NP

The old interior of the building and the new interior

A proposed design that was ultimately rejected by planning officials at Epping Forest District Council

Aside from a somewhat ostentatious South Fork-esque portico entrance, Threshers House is presented without kitchens and bathrooms so as to allow “incoming purchasers to design to their own requirements”. It includes 5 reception rooms, 5 bedrooms and a 2-bedroom first floor flat and comes with planning permission for a 1,400 square foot orangery and underground leisure facility. Within the grounds is a completed 1,988 square foot 3 bedroom cottage, a 886 square foot bungalow, a 768 square foot bungalow and a 1,386 square foot six car garage.

Elsewhere and benefitting from separate access, a tiled stable and thatched barn complex provides accommodation for 14 horses and was previously run as a business named Threshers Equestrian. It comes with a horse walker, floodlit manège, lunging room and hard standing as well as a number of paddocks.

Threshers House – which is situated about 40 minutes drive from Canary Wharf – is also available for £3.25 million ($4.06 million, €3.81 million or درهم14.92 million) with just 5 acres of land and minus the ancillary accommodation.

April 3, 2017
A Treble Two

Miss Marple-esque thatched cottage for sale for a sum 129% higher than it achieved in 2014; it has 2 reception rooms, 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms

Sold last in October 2014 for £175,000, Fussells Cottage in the “unspoilt” Wiltshire village of Wedhampton is again for sale for £400,000 ($497,000, €460,000 or درهم1.8 million).

Named after the occupational description for a spinner and situated next to an old mill, the 1,167 square foot, Grade II listed house on offer had its roof rethatched in January 2015. It consists of 2 reception rooms, 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

Offered to market by agents Hamptons, the extended cottage retains many period features and comes with an oak framed car barn in its grounds.

March 29, 2017
Bring Back Abdulhak

Father of Martine Vik Magnussen again calls for his daughter’s wealthy Arabic suspected killer to face justice nine years after her death

Nine years have passed since Martine Vik Magnussen, after being caught on camera leaving Mayfair’s Maddox Club, was raped and murdered in Great Portland Street, London. Her suspected killer, a wealthy brat named Farouk Abdulhak has never been caught and, to this day, lives in luxury with his family in Yemen.

On Wednesday, Miss Magnussen’s Norwegian father, Petter, issued yet another appeal for justice through The Mirror. In his statement, he remarked:

“We never imagined nine years ago that we would be in this position today”.

“We had hoped that Farouk Abdulhak would by now have had the courage to return to the UK and allow for the legal processes to proceed”.

“Sadly that is not the case, he remains at large, hiding from justice and putting myself and my family through intolerable pain”.

“Martine was a beautiful daughter and our search for justice will never cease”.

Suspected killer and rapist Farouk Abdulhak continues to live a playboy lifestyle thanks to the wealth and connections of his family

The son of a wealthy businessman named Shaher Abdulhak, Farouk Abdulhak remains at large and due to Britain having no extradition agreement with Yemen continues to do as he pleases. It is shameful and wrong and despite repeated calls for him to return to the UK to face justice, he will likely never give himself up.

Those with information should contact the police on +44 (0) 20 8358 0300 or Crimestoppers on +44 (0) 800 555 111.

March 15, 2017
Nelson & Nintendo

Georgian mansion, where Admiral Lord Nelson lived with his lover and her husband, for sale for £4.25 million; it was renovated by a former Nintendo executive

One would expect a senior executive of a tech company to live in a slick, modern home in Silicon Valley, but since 2004, Matthew Hill, for many years a senior manager at Nintendo, has called a Grade II listed manor house named Fir Hill in Hampshire’s Meon Valley home.

Built in 1765 and the scene of one of the most famous ménages à trois in history when home to Sir William Hamilton, his wife Emma and Admiral Horatio, 1^st Viscount Nelson in 1801 to 1802, the 7,905 square foot “Georgian masterpiece” includes 3 reception rooms, 7 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. It stands in 5.2 acres of land and comes with a two-storey stable block with potential for secondary accommodation.

Mr Hill purchased the property from Mrs Vida Schreiber, previously Lady Clive, after the death of her husband, Brigadier Schreiber. He met intellectual property lawyer Georgy Evans in 2007 and married her in St Mary and All Saints church in Droxford in 2012 and in the time since, aside from completing the renovation of Fir Hill, the couple have worked together creating a website that comprehensively details the entire history of the building.

Of the renovation and why they are now selling, Matthew Hill told Hampshire Life:

“The renovation work took us 10 years on and off. Our architect said, you either have a big bang and not live here for two years or work in phases. We decided to do the work in four phases which meant we could live here, moving around the house as each phase was completed. The experience of living in the house helped with the restoration… It’s a lovely house, with a lovely feeling, but too big for the two of us now”.

Fir Hill is for sale for £4.25 million ($5.17 million, €4.87 million or درهم19.07 million) through Christie’s Real Estate.

March 14, 2017
An Economical Plate

Rare 1952 Austin A90 Atlantic to be auctioned complete with plate ‘GDP 137’; it is a fine example of an affordable and quirky classic

Described as an “unrestored oily-rag example”, a 1952 Austin A90 Atlantic saloon to be offered for sale by Classic Car Auctions has a design that echoes a 1946 Pininfarina bodied Alfa Romeo and comes with a number plate – GDP 137 – that might appeal to an economist.

The rare 2.6-litre car is said to be one of just thirty left in Britain and was used by present and previous owners in a number of UK rallies and driving tours on the continent also. It was given replacement brakes in 2014, had its engine professionally rebuilt in 2016 and was converted to unleaded at the same time.

CCA have set an estimate of £8,500 to £10,500 ($10,300 to $12,800, €9,700 to €12,000 or درهم 38,000 to درهم 46,900) for this quirky little Austin. It will be sold at their Practical Classics Car & Restoration Show sale at The National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on 1^st April.

March 12, 2017
Barbed Manors

Grade II* listed Kent manor house for sale for £3.95 million; the purchaser will get a controversial £107.9 million EuroMillions jackpot winner as their neighbour

Sold last in 2009 for £1.9 million (the equivalent of £2.3 million, $2.8 million, €2.2 million or درهم 10.3 million today), Waystrode Manor at Cowden, near Edenbridge in Kent is a Grade II* listed manor house.

For sale currently for £3.95 million ($4.81 million, €4.56 million or درهم 17.65 million) through Savills, the main 4,435 square foot house dates back as far, perhaps, as 1208. The present Tudor residence includes 4 reception rooms, 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, but aside from that there is a 3 bedroom cottage, a converted oast house providing a recreation space, a Grade II listed double vaulted timber frame barn, an orangery and a coach house.

Within the 7.8 acres of formal and informal gardens and grounds of this attractive, restored property – which has been offered as a film and photo shoot location through the JJ Media agency – there is also an outdoor swimming pool, a hard tennis court, three ponds and an orchard.

Though the eventual purchaser of Waystrode Manor will of course be a multi-millionaire, they will most likely not be nearly as rich as their controversial neighbours, Neil Trotter and his partner Nikki Ottaway. Mr Trotter won £107.9 million ($131.4million, €124.6 million or درهم 482.4 million) on the EuroMillions lottery in 2014 and subsequently bought the adjoining 423-acre estate, Leighton Manor, for £5 million ($6.1 million, €5.8 million or درهم 22.4 million). In 2016, Trotter and Ottaway were “slammed” in the national press by locals after installing what was termed an “unsightly” barbed wire fence.

Neil Trotter was a garage mechanic before he won a EuroMillions jackpot

Waystrode Manor, Spode Lane, Cowden, Edenbridge, Kent, TN8 7HW

A sitting room in the main house

A drawing room with an equally imposing fireplace

This hallway is used as a dining space

Whilst this is described as a breakfast room

The kitchen is one of the few “modern” rooms in the main building

The master bedroom has its own bathroom

This barn is Grade II listed

It features a double height, vaulted interior

An oast house stands in the grounds also

The interior of the building

A view of the gardens

This orangery is quite impressive from the outside

As is its interior

There is a tennis court

And a swimming pool

A further outbuilding

The setting

Another view of the main house

March 9, 2017
Warring Ward

Champagne swiller Dawn Ward “at war” with one-time friend and fellow WAG and cast member of ‘The Real Housewives of Cheshire’ Leanne Brown

Yesterday, The Sun on Sunday reported that a favourite of all at The Steeple Times, Dawn Ward, is “at war over a £500,000 loan”.

43-year old Mrs Ward, whose attempts at interior design at her naff Cheshire mansion have left it lingering on the market at the overly ambitious price of £12 million since 2015, is said to have borrowed the cash from Leanne Brown, a fellow footballer’s wife, in 2013 and hasn’t paid it back.

Dawn Ward (right) and Leanne Brown in happier times

A “source” close to 40-year old Mrs Brown and her husband, Wes, 37, told The Sun on Sunday:

“Dawn asked to borrow the cash. They agreed, but with interest payable after six months”.

“It seems to them she took advantage of their kindness and has no intention of giving it back”.

“They spoke to solicitors and sent a legal letter spelling out their intention of taking her to court”.

“Leanne and Dawn used to be great friends, so it is a shame things have reached this point”.

“But her failure to pay back the loan has really soured their friendship, and now they feel they have no choice if they want to see their money again”.

“The tension between the pair during filming is palpable. Last week tempers flared [on the set of The Real Housewives of Cheshire] again and a glass was smashed”.

A spokesperson for champagne obsessed, Prosecco hating Mrs Ward, whose 2016 conviction for assault also made headlines, remarked:

“We have been friends for years and have completed many business deals together and everybody is aware that money is owed on both sides. We have tried to arrange a meeting to clear this up but the offer has not been accepted”.

February 13, 2017