After flogging her £10 million London mansion and heading off to her Cotswolds bolthole, newly teetotal Kate Moss has been selling her art collection and investing in… gin.

A source close to the burgeoning businesswoman’s circle tells me: ‘In the old days, Kate – like many supermodels including her friend Naomi Campbell – found herself being paid in freebies like clothes, gifts and art. 

“Now, she is selling some of her art. It’s a good way to raise a bit of cash.’

I hear that among Kate’s collection are pieces by Polly Morgan, whose works, including prints, sculptures and taxidermy, can fetch up to five figures.

Kate also loves Damien Hirst’s work, which can be sold for many millions, including pickled sharks and diamond-encrusted skulls.

After flogging her £10 million London mansion and heading off to her Cotswolds bolthole, newly teetotal Kate Moss has been selling her art collection and investing in… gin

After flogging her £10 million London mansion and heading off to her Cotswolds bolthole, newly teetotal Kate Moss has been selling her art collection and investing in… gin

Kate, who has been voluntary closing down three other companies, has closed down the catwalk business she used to make her earnings.

To the horror of Lila, she quickly sold her Highgate home.

The sale of the home, which was once the playground of George Michael and the wealthy, came about suddenly. However, sources say that signs of financial change were evident in the early part of last year.

‘Kate was selling some of her art collection a year ago, through a private dealer that a close friend put her on to,’ the insider says.

‘She is working out where she can recoup funds from her heyday.’

Kate has been using some of her cash to invest in new upmarket Seventy One gin – even though she’s trying to stay sober herself. In 2020, Kate posed naked in a black-and-white shot (above) to help plug the £140-a-bottle tipple

Kate has been using some of her cash to invest in new upmarket Seventy One gin – even though she’s trying to stay sober herself. In 2020, Kate posed naked in a black-and-white shot (above) to help plug the £140-a-bottle tipple

Removal trucks are seen outside Kate Moss' £10m North London home in November

Removal trucks are seen outside Kate Moss’ £10m North London home in November

Kate has been using some of her cash to invest in a new upmarket gin – even though she’s trying to stay sober herself. 

Seventy One gin was created by her pal, photographer Mert Alas, and Kate posed naked in a black-and-white shot to help plug the £140-a-bottle tipple, which is marketed to be drunk neat over ice.

Vogue editor Edward Enninful is another teetotaller who may have also invested.

My source says: ‘Kate is doing everything to live a clean lifestyle, so her mates are ribbing her for getting involved with a stiff spirit that isn’t exactly encouraging restraint!’

Mert’s business partner Tasso Ferreira refused to name any of the investors, saying coyly: ‘They remain confidential.’

Are you looking for a Christmas gift idea? 

How about one of the Queen’s limited- edition carriage clocks from the Buckingham Palace website for a very regal £3,500? 

Wondering how to treat someone special this Christmas? How about one of the Queen’s limited- edition carriage clocks from the Buckingham Palace website for a very regal £3,500?

You are looking for the perfect gift to give someone you care about this Christmas? How about one of the Queen’s limited- edition carriage clocks from the Buckingham Palace website for a very regal £3,500?

Despite the timepieces being part of a limited run of 50 – and reassurances about the two-tone gold paint – I can’t see Her Majesty clocking up many sales at that price.

Beanpole comic Stephen Merchant admits he’s at loggerheads with his girlfriend – because she’s desperate to get a tiny poodle.

Merchant, who created The Office with writing partner Ricky Gervais, is 6ft 7in and worries that he’ll look ridiculous if he is forced to take the dog for a walk.

The 47-year-old says of his spats with US actress Mircea Monroe: ‘We’ve been having arguments because she’s very keen to get a dog.

Comic Stephen Merchant, 47, admits he’s at loggerheads with his US actress girlfriend Mircea Monroe (pictured together, above) because she’s desperate to get a tiny poodle

Comic Stephen Merchant, 47, admits he’s at loggerheads with his US actress girlfriend Mircea Monroe (pictured together, above) because she’s desperate to get a tiny poodle

‘But she is obsessed with just the tiny little poodles, and I keep trying to make the argument that I can’t walk them.

‘Can you imagine me walking a poodle? I’d just be dragging it along.

‘It needs to be a big dog, like an alsatian or something.’

There is an idea in my head for a new form of comedy.