Banker Loses His London Mansion - biggest ever repossession in Britain

[Paule]

A former banker has lost an £11m west London mansion in what is believed to be the biggest ever repossession in Britain.



Robert Bonnier, 38, and his wife had planned to redevelop the property, in exclusive Holland Park.

They were going to add a huge extension, an indoor swimming pool and a cinema.

But Mr Bonnier was forced to hand over the keys after racking up reported debts of around £15m.

His agent said: "You only have to look to see what's happened to him to understand why the house has been repossessed."

It is not the first time Mr Bonnier has suffered a major reverse of fortune.

He is said to have made - and lost - £150m on a dotcom enterprise before going into banking.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders said it had never before heard of such an expensive property being repossessed.

[righty]

Re: Banker Loses His London Mansion - biggest ever repossession in Britain

How on earth did being in dot.com qualify him to be a banker.......... explains a lot

[Amethyst]

Re: Banker Loses His London Mansion - biggest ever repossession in Britain

ahhh he was the Scoot.com man.


March 08

Robert Bonnier, the colourful City trader and former dotcom millionaire, is alleged to have owed failed broker Global Trader Europe more than £6m.
Global Trader launched a high court legal action in December to recover an alleged £6.2m debt from Mr Bonnier and two Jersey based companies - just weeks before the broker collapsed into administration after an unnamed client sustained heavy losses.
Mr Bonnier vehemently disputes the allegations and claims that the legal action was halted in January, before Global Trader collapsed, after all parties reached an agreement.
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In the writ, filed on December 21, Global Trader claimed that Mr Bonnier had agreed to act as guarantor in November 2007, to Cold Investments and Lykke Capital, after Global Trader agreed to reduce the margin requirements on a number of contract for difference positions held by the two Jersey-based companies.
CFDs are increasingly used by private investors to invest in equities. The derivatives allow individuals to put up a small amount of money to obtain exposure to large shareholdings, a process known as leverage.
The writ alleges that following the agreement in November, Cold Investments and Lykke subsequently failed to meet two margin calls totalling £6.2m.
A spokesman for Mr Bonnier insisted yesterday that he no longer had any connection with Cold Investments, which he sold last year, or Lykke Capital.
The spokesman said: "Following the sale of Cold Investments in March 2007, he was owed a material sum on the deferred consideration which is why he agreed to become a personal guarantor. He wanted to assist in what was a tricky situation."
Smith & Williamson, Global Trader Europe's administrators, are expected to appoint external investigators within days to help them with the complex process of recovering funds owed to the company.
A former Swiss Bank investment banker Mr Bonnier made and lost a £150m fortune in the dotcom boom.
The chief executive of Scoot.com, Mr Bonnier saw his personal wealth rise as Scoot.com shares soared. But when the bubble burst Scoot.com's value collapsed, falling from a high of £2.5bn to less than £50m.
Although Mr Bonnier lost almost everything, he quickly bounced back and went on to make millions trading the London stock market, taking sizable positions in stocks such as Regus and SCi Entertainment.

[Amethyst]

Re: Banker Loses His London Mansion - biggest ever repossession in Britain

Robert Bonnier, the former boss of failed directories group Scoot.com, last week ended a five-year exile from the market. He is now chief executive and the largest shareholder of £130m Aim-listed cash shell Future Internet Technologies.
Mr Bonnier, 36, who was fined £290,000 for market abuse in 2004, talks for the first time since his return.
Q What made you come back to public company life now?
A Since I left Scoot, I've been happy, broadening my horizons into other industries and cultures like Latin America and Asia and getting ready to take on a challenge. I came back for no particular reason, other than this is an exciting opportunity.
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Q Remind us. Did Scoot fail or was it the dot.com crash?
A It was a combination of factors: the wrong partners, technology delivery issues, and the dot.com crash. If you see how the classified market is moving I think it is fair to say that we were on the right track.
Q Another trying time for you was that fine. Was that fair?
A In my view it is not about fairness. I had the option to go to a tribunal and argue my case against the findings, but after two years I felt enough was enough, especially as it would make lawyers rich and it would not be a good use of my time. There was absolutely no intent on my part to mislead the market.
Q What is your response to speculation that the London Stock Exchange is investigating your new appointment?
A Provided there is full disclosure of matters relevant to a director's suitability it should be left to the market to decide, as it does with respect to many directors of listed companies who do not have unblemished records.
Q When did you start trading in shares?
A At the age of 13. I was awarded a compensation payment for a sports injury which I invested in the stock market and this gave me my first interest. I now use derivatives like contracts for difference. In my case it provides financial flexibility and tax optimisation.
Q What is your best and worst investment?
A My best investment will only be known in five years' time! My worst was spending too much time trying to buy World Directories, a large printed yellow-page business. Scoot's partner at the time ended up buying it instead and made a considerable return.
Q What do you think of the tighter rules on cash shells?
A I endorse the recently introduced rules dictating the timing of deals within a certain timeframe and the minimum amount of cash required. Aim is good for cash shells as the market is an endorsement of entrepreneurship and should therefore be embraced.
Q What was the best moment in your business life?
A The day I was offered my first job as an intern at Swiss Bank Corporation. My worst moment was the day I had to leave Scoot.
Q What is your biggest non-work related regret?
A Discovering the comfort of Todd's shoes. I have about 30 pairs but have no idea how much I have spent!

[Amethyst]

Re: Banker Loses His London Mansion - biggest ever repossession in Britain

Financial crisis: Property millionaire Robert Bonnier loses £11m home in housing slump


By Sarah Knapton
Last Updated: 12:58pm BST 21/09/2008


The £11 million home of a city financier has been repossessed by banks in what could be Britain’s most costly house seizure.
Default by the US government is no longer unthinkable
Strong medicine needed to cure ills of cheap money
Former dotcom millionaire Robert Bonnier, 38, took out several loans to buy the six bedroom house in Holland Park, west London, last year.
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He planned to extend the property in Ilchester Place by building a swimming pool, cinema and wine cellar and enlarging the garden before putting it back on the market for £15 million.
But falls in the housing market have made it impossible for Mr Bonnier to recoup the money spent and pay back the loans, believed to be around £7 million.
Now the banks from which he borrowed have repossessed the house and put it on the market for £10 million.
A source said: "The market is 20 per cent off what it was last year and sadly it has been repossessed."
The Council of Mortgage Lenders said it had never heard of repossession of a property so highly valued.
Mr Bonnier has a colourful history. As chief executive of Scoot.com, he saw his personal wealth rise as the website’s shares soared. But when the bubble burst, Scoot.com’s value collapsed, falling from a high of £2.5 billion to less than £50 million.
He bounced back and went on to make millions on the London trading floors but was fined £290,000 in 2004 by the Financial Services Authority, then a record amount, for misleading the stock market.
He is currently involved in a protracted legal battle with Global Trader Europe, a derivatives brokerage.
The firm launched a High Court action in December last year to recover an alleged £6.2 million debt from Mr Bonnier and two Jersey-based companies, but collapsed into administration a few weeks later.
Mr Bonnier vehemently disputes the allegations and claims that the legal action was halted in January after all parties reached an agreement.
Soon after the collapse Mr Bonnier moved into the property market renovating a home in Holland Park before selling it for £13 million.
He bought a second property in nearby Ilchester Place from American film producer Charles Schneer, who was behind Clash of the Titans starring Laurence Olivier and Ursula Andress.
Schneer, 88, said: "I guess I was lucky and sold at the top of the market. We never met the purchaser. It was all done through lawyers, but I have heard Robert Bonnier’s name mentioned."

[Amethyst]

Re: Banker Loses His London Mansion - biggest ever repossession in Britain

FSA fines Robert Bonnier 290,000 and Indigo Capital 65,000 for market abuse

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has today fined Mr Robert Bonnier 290,000 and Indigo Capital LLC (Indigo) 65,000 respectively for issuing materially inaccurate statements which created a false or misleading impression amounting to market abuse.
Mr Bonnier made twelve inaccurate notifications to Regus plc (Regus), from 18 November 2002 to 8 January 2003, relating to dealings in Regus' shares. The notifications purported to show that Indigo had shareholdings in Regus, in fact Indigo mainly held contracts for difference (CFDs) referenced to Regus' shares and not Regus shares. The notifications were subsequently announced to the market by Regus.

[Amy]

Re: Banker Loses His London Mansion - biggest ever repossession in Britain

This just goes to show that hardship can affect many people on a great many levels.

Robert Bonnier will have been considered affluent and about as far away from hardship as one could possibly get yet all wasn't as it appeared. He has now had his property repossessed just as many others have and many more will because he simply could not afford to pay for it.

It doesn't matter how much the property is worth if you cannot afford it. It's all relative.

[righty]

Re: Banker Loses His London Mansion - biggest ever repossession in Britain

In the main it wasn't the credit crunch that has brought about his downfall it's more to do with his failure to invest his previous windfalls wisely.

He would have been better off if he just kept his money in the bank but then the greedy are driven

[Amy]

Re: Banker Loses His London Mansion - biggest ever repossession in Britain

Hindsight is such a wonderful thing.

[righty]

Re: Banker Loses His London Mansion - biggest ever repossession in Britain

I don't think hindsight has anything to do with. Most debtors are in their situation because they borrowed to live or keep a home over their heads

This guy on the other hand made a killing of tens of millions which for him wasn't enough & that's just greed. The same greed that has resulted in the situation we have today

[Amy]

Re: Banker Loses His London Mansion - biggest ever repossession in Britain

I don't think hindsight has anything to do with. Most debtors are in their situation because they borrowed to live or keep a home over their heads

This guy on the other hand made a killing of tens of millions which for him wasn't enough & that's just greed. The same greed that has resulted in the situation we have today

Why is making money greedy? We all earn money to live and I for one always want more and I don't see anything wrong with that.

The fact of the matter is Mr Bonnier cannot now afford something that he once could, which is unfortunate and I'm sure very concerning for him but it's not greed that had his house repossessed. He fell on hard times like so many others have.

It doesn't matter if he had £5 or £5,000,000 because he doesn't have it any longer.

[Celestine]

Re: Banker Loses His London Mansion - biggest ever repossession in Britain

Q What made you come back to public company life now?
A Since I left Scoot, I've been happy, broadening my horizons into other industries and cultures like Latin America and Asia and getting ready to take on a challenge. I came back for no particular reason, other than this is an exciting opportunity.

Q What is your biggest non-work related regret?
A Discovering the comfort of Todd's shoes. I have about 30 pairs but have no idea how much I have spent!

I suspect he has plenty of offshore assets to play with, including property.

Yes, little Piers will be devastated not to mingle with his chums at Eton any more but the schools in Bogota aren't that bad really!

[righty]

Re: Banker Loses His London Mansion - biggest ever repossession in Britain

Amy making money isn't a sign of greed & I never said that. Your simply twisting my words to suit your purpose.

Having more than enough money to buy anything you & your family want or may need yet still wanting more is greed