buckinghamshire

Mentmore’s London sibling for sale

Matthew Beckett - The Country Seat4 Comments
Mentmore Towers
Mentmore Towers

Simon Halabi’s original plan was to develop a super-luxury, six-star club experience with members enjoying country facilities at Mentmore Towers, in Buckinghamshire, with a London base at the In and Out Club on Piccadilly.  However, the recent global crisis seemed to put the plans on hold and concerns had been raised (including in comments on earlier blog post: ‘Simon Halabi and Mentmore Towers’ – 17 July) as to whether sufficient maintenence was being undertaken at both locations.

The master plan appears to have now been changed with the news that the In and Out Club has been put up for sale.  Included in the deal are various neighbouring buildings which give the potential for the sale to raise up to £250m. It’s not known what Mr Halabi’s plans are but one can only hope that the money raised will benefit Mentmore Towers, preserving and protecting this important country house.

Full story: ‘Mayfair’s In and Out Club on market‘ [Financial Times]

Some new country houses to visit?

Matthew Beckett - The Country SeatLeave a comment
Dorneywood, Buckinghamshire
Dorneywood, Buckinghamshire

One interesting proposal to come out of the Conservative Conference this week is that the grace-and-favour country houses, currently used by ministers, would be open to view and for use by the public.

At the moment Dorneywood in Buckinghamshire – where John Prescott was famously snapped playing croquet instead of ruining running the country – and Chevening House in Kent, would be available for the first time.

Francis Maude, the shadow cabinet office minister, has indicated that he would like to see them being used for events and by local charities rather than just as retreats for ministers. 

So, anyone who has exhausted their National Trust book in the south east might be able to add two more to their itineraries.

Full story: ‘John Prescott croquet estate Dorneywood will be opened to public by Tories‘ [Daily Telegraph]

Simon Halabi and Mentmore Towers

Matthew Beckett - The Country Seat10 Comments

The Times (‘Halabi may have to sell-up to pay loan‘ – 16 July 2009) is reporting that Simon Halabi, the multi-millionare businessman, may have to sell part of his London property portfolio to satisfy bond holders after the value of the properties dropped by nearly half, breaching the loan-to-value ratio of the bond secured against it.  In 1997, Halabi bought the Grade-I listed Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, formerly one of the Rothschild banking family’s most famous and impressive houses,  with the intention of converting it into a luxury hotel.  It’s not known how far work on that project has progressed but the grand chateau-style house, which also starred in the film ‘Batman Begins’ as Bruce Wayne’s house, is just too important to be forgotten so I hope that his other issues don’t impact on the work being undertaken as part of that project.