| Westminster, 52, has been promoted to the rank of major-general and is now the senior officer in the Territorial Army. But army pay is not what motivates him. He has always loved military life and has been going on manoeuvres since he enlisted as a trooper in 1970. It takes him away from the responsibilities of running his estates and particularly his London acreage. His land in London, centred on 100 acres in Mayfair and 200 acres in Belgravia, is the heart of his empire. However, it has caused problems of late. Leaseholders waged a so-called Battle of Belgravia over escalating maintenance costs. Last September Westminster's property business, Grosvenor Group, backed down and the parties agreed a compromise. The incident showed how difficult life can be as a landlord in London. Grosvenor Group's profits fell sharply in its 2002 accounts from £81.8m to £60.8m, although its net assets rose £30m to £1.753 billion. The group warned that the slowdown in financial markets had caused the dip in profits and acknowledged that the figures for 2003 would be even worse. Still, as a private company without the City to answer to, Grosvenor Group can take the long view. It is currently working on a huge development project in Bath that will transform 50 derelict acres, and is similarly involved in the Paradise Project in Liverpool, which will upgrade a 42-acre site. Grosvenor's net assets include the 100 acres of Mayfair and a huge overseas portfolio, mainly in North America and Australia. We value the group on its £1.753 billion net asset figure. We assume that the 200 Belgravia acres could be valued on a par with the Mayfair acreage, and will be worth twice the £1.753 billion figure, or just over £3.5 billion. That would put a £5.259 billion price on Westminster's London and overseas assets. In addition, he has more than 140,000 acres around Britain, also held by family trusts, and Eaton Hall, his Cheshire seat. These could be worth £200m, while his art collection is worth perhaps another £200m. That gives a total asset wealth of perhaps £5.659 billion. However, we cut him back sharply to £5 billion to reflect any borrowings and because we exercise a little caution in the light of the comments about the 2003 results. The round figure valuation for Westminster is appropriate - though not enough to keep him at the summit of this list.
|
1
|
|
£4,900m
|
|
