Having taken a £50 million hit during the pandemic, and with a glamorous wife 31 years his junior to keep happy, former Dragons’ Den star Duncan Bannatyne appears to be taking drastic action.
It is my pleasure to inform you that 72-year old tycoon has placed the jewel in his hotel empire onto the market.
Bannatyne — who was known for telling hapless wannabe entrepreneurs on the hit BBC2 business series ‘I’m Out’ — wants £4 million for the Charlton House Hotel & Spa in Somerset.
Selling: Duncan Bannatyne, pictured with wife Nigora, wants £4 million for the Charlton House Hotel & Spa in Somerset
He tells me that ‘I believe any business owner would lie if they claimed they haven’t been seriously affected by the pandemic.’ “We have. The hotel’s home is a Grade II listed 17th century stately house near Shepton Mallet.
Scotsman asserts that he doesn’t intend to sell his other hotels. The only one that does not have any connections to any health clubs is this one, making it the best choice.
Clydebank’s foundry worker son also has hotels in Durham and Darlington. There are an additional 70 gyms and approximately 50 spas that he owns under his Bannatyne Group.
The father-of-six married 41-year-old former receptionist Nigora Whitehorn in 2017, the year after he proposed in Monte Carlo, with a sparkler said to be worth £40,000. Nigora Whitehorn, who was born in Uzbekistan, first saw him at his London dentist on Harley Street. Nigora also worked there.
The divorce from his second wife, Joanne McCue, was reported to have cost him a staggering £345 million. Although his business suffered in the pandemic, Bannatyne has said he turned down a £250 million offer from an unnamed American company to buy his empire. Matthew Smith from Knight Frank, who is marketing the property confirms: “We are delighted to act for the Bannatyne Group and to find a new buyer for Charlton House Hotel, Spa.
It is located in Shepton Mallet, a 17th-century converted stately home that has been listed Grade II.
Normal People star leads Fashion Pack
PICK OF PARTIES
THE OCCASION: The Fashion Awards After-Partys.
DRASTIC MAKINGOVER: Paul Mescal was a star opposite Daisy Edgar-Jones on the BBC’s hit drama Normal People. He was well known for wearing a gold chain and scruffy clothes, but he was nearly unrecognizable in a Gucci jacquard blazer that he wore to Tommy Hilfiger’s Mayfair party.
Paul Mescal, wearing a Gucci jacquard-blazer in an extravagant Gucci color at Tommy Hilfiger’s Mayfair party was nearly unrecognisable
Anna Wintour received John Galliano as a guest at the awards.
Elsa Hosk was a Victoria’s Secret former model. She wore a stunning floral-print Richard Quinn gown and stood there as she got out the car.
Olympic star Tom Daley became friends with Demi Moore to make the biggest night on Hollywood’s style calendar.
Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones, co-stars in Normal People
BACK IN TREND: John Galliano was welcomed back by Anna Wintour, Vogue’s bigwig. His career had taken a dive after an racial rant in 2011.
In the Swim: Olympic star Tom Daley joined Hollywood actress Demi Moore to celebrate style’s largest night. I asked him what fashion meant to him. He said that it was a way for you to express yourself.
FASHION ROYALTY – Sadie Frost who directed Mary Quant’s film said that she wanted to dress like a princess for the awards. She wore a peach trousersuit by Dame Zandra Rhods.
BAREFOOT BEAUTY – Elsa Hosk, a former Victoria’s Secret model, wore an extravagant floral-printed Richard Quinn dress and stood on it when she got out her car. She was blessed to have no shoes.
Harry’s ex-aide in royal return
Clara Loughran, a courtier who was fired when Prince Harry and Meghan left royal duties to move to the U.S.
However, yesterday she returned to the royal residence in an emotional gesture to receive a gong.
Clara was Harry’s close aide and was given her insignia from the Royal Victorian Order by Princess Anne at Windsor Castle. This was on the behalf of the Queen. Clara, who had previously been employed by the Duke and Duchesss of Cambridge, was responsible for project management.
Clara was a partner in an organization that links influential people and organizations to good causes. Her husband Nick Loughran watched her from Windsor. Nick Loughran used to also be a palace assistant.
Clara was Harry’s close aide and was given her insignia from the Royal Victorian Order by Princess Anne at Windsor Castle.
BRIT Awards organizers believe they are being very ‘woke’ in scrapping gender-specific awards like Best Female Artist. But Patti Boulaye, Eighties star, is not impressed.
The singer/actress tells me, “It’s just so much rubbish,” at the British Curry Awards at Battersea Evolution London.
“Sometimes, it is best to let things be. Because if you upset one thing, you cause chaos everywhere.”
Nigerian-born Boulaye, now 67, added that her staring role in The Real Marigold Hotel was: ‘My female ancestrals in West Africa went to battle instead of the males. It’s not clear to me that there is a single size for all.
Keira Knightley reckons she has a historical-looking face. ‘I’ve done roughly half contemporary films — but they haven’t always done as well,’ she says.
“I believe it is something to do my face.
“I am more likely to be cast in period movies, and I find the roles more fascinating.
“I must have facial expressions for period drama.”
This is not what producers of her new film want to hear. Silent Night is contemporary horror comedy, and was shot during the outbreak.
Boris Johnson’s wife Carrie is passionate about ‘rewilding. According to my sources, Derek Gow, a wild animal breeder, convinced an aristocrat that he should abandon agriculture and let nature rule.
James Lowther, who inherits his family’s Castle in Lake District from his grandfather, claimed that his late father Earl of Lonsdale’s farming methods ‘trashed’ the land.
He said to me, “I bulldozed Lowther Castle’s chicken sheds and created a plan for saving it and its gardens.”
How is he going to make money without the chicken, dairy and beef farming? He says, “I have built 600 beehives.”