Home sweet Bajan home?
Former British prime minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie are may be considering buying a home in Barbados.
Thu, September 02, 2010 - 12:00 AM
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair may be planning to follow in the footsteps of another British leader who bought a home in Barbados as a retirement property.
After Sir Anthony Eden stepped down as Prime Minister, he acquired Villa Nova in St John, where he lived off and on. Now, the Sunday Telegraph in London has reported that Blair and his wife Cherie “are house-hunting in Barbados for a villa to add to their already formidable property empire.
The island is a favourite vacation and retirement spot for some of Britain’s leading celebrities, many of whom have bought properties there as investments”.
The Telegraph told its readers “the Blairs are believed to have been looking for a house on the former British colony, which has long been their favoured holiday destination, for at least three months”.
It quoted several sources as saying that hundreds of digital photographs of properties have been emailed to the couple, but a spokesman for the couple said “they have definitely, 100 per cent categorically not bought a home in Barbados”.
But if a real estate agent, a solicitor and friends of the Blairs are to be believed, the former Prime Minister and his wife have, at the very least, expressed an interest in buying a home here, and one of the places on their list is said to be Apes Hill, where as many as 200 high-priced properties are being built on prime land.
The plots alone can run anywhere from US$400 000 to several millions.
For example, the Telegraph quoted a leading Bajan attorney as telling the paper she expected the Blairs to buy a property through a company – rather than in their own names – “in an attempt to disguise the purchase for security and privacy reasons”.
And a Barbadian with whom the couple discussed the idea of buying a home said: “He told me he is a great admirer of our state education system and he would have liked his children to have gone to school in Barbados.”
The source was described as an “islander, who has become friendly with the former prime minister during his many visits” to the island when he led the United Kingdom.
The news of his interest in Barbados came a few days before his long-awaited memoir, Tony Blair: The Journey, was published yesterday, and has created a sensation in and out political circles.
The former prime minister’s personal wealth is believed to range from £20 million to £60 million. They already own seven properties, the latest of which was recently bought in London for almost £1 million.
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I wonder if they’ve received the details of my house. I’d love someone to buy it!!!
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Comment Linkwhy not? bajans have emigrated to the UK and bought houses there. I am anxiously awaiting the negative comments. hurry up!
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Comment Link@ME. I agree. There’s a lot of negativity lately for anything that’s perceived to be non-Bar-Bajan. Never mind of course, that the UK is one of Barbados’ largest tourist markets. I see Blair’s potential retirement here as additional good press. It means kings, queens, princess, and former diplomats can all come to live in Barbados and feel safe while living here in peace. There are 30-40 other destinations in the region (some of which are still British territories) and apparently he may chose this one. That is a huge vote of confidence.
Having high profile people on your shores means that when going gets tough you have friends in high places that just—may be able to lobby for you a little. Think of the business links he has that he could draw down to B’dos.
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Comment Link@J.Payne
Friends in high places? Dream on…The Carlyle group is all about them and their friends, and we in Barbados don’t qualify.And as for him being here means good press for us in Britain… there’s a reason he’s no longer PM or even in politics anymore…think about it.
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Comment LinkJ Payne - Do you really think that a non national like the Blairs will be able to do some business deals with you or any other Barbadian - Which planet are you living on? The way people go about business here in the UK is very different from Barbados. And at the end of the day Blair is a UK citizen who resides in the UK so Barbados will just be a holiday home - NOTHING ELSE
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Comment LinkIf Blair ends up buying in Barbados the price of property will plummet, as he’s associated with the death’sof hundred’s of thousands of innocent people during the war in Iraq. Do you really want this person on your island.
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Comment Link@J. Payne
I am in agreement with your perception of the potential benefits, a Blair residency, albeit seasonal, could bring to the shores of Barbados. It seems to me the problem isn’t that companies such as the Carlyle Group, for example, and/or individuals like Mr. Blair are averse to doing business with Barbados and Barbadians but rather the sad misconception of some that Barbados or Barbadians can’t do deals with companies like the Carlyle Group and/or individuals like Mr. Blair.
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Comment Linkit’s amazing that in this day and age some narrow minded people in Bim. beam with pride at the prospect that some high profile person or persons would want to vacation or live in Barbados. wake up. at the end of the day if these folks don’t invest in Barbados(and by invest i don’t mean buying up all the property they can) in a way that the average black Bajan can benefit and in turn create businesses of their own what good are they? yes they may employ a butler or maid(no disrespect)for the duration of their stay but we have to look beyond that, those days dun. sure let them buy homes and vacation just like any other person. just remember it’s the tens of thousand of average law abiding good natured black bajan that keep tourist going back to bim not the few high profilers. pride your self on that.
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Comment Link@Harddrive. Well, some thought the very same about Mr. E. Melnyk. However, if you go to the website of his former company (Biovail) does it not list Barbados as one of his subsidiary locations?
In terms of the firm you mentioned, it does not have to be that same entity to engage in local business activities. Different companies aim for different segments of business. The Carlyle Group may deal with companies that gross millions (if not billions) or have a good chance of being a buyout target. Something like BS&T/N&M or Sagicor might be more their scale. As a next point, venture capital firms typically take majority ownership of companies which they’re funding. Let me ask you this. Do you think Bajans have a culture of willingly relinquishing the majority control of their profitable businesses to someone else? When approaching a V.C. firm you must have some serious stats to prove your biz. (not only viable but has a strong chance for providing healthy returns on investment.)
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Comment LinkIt is simple….
The benefits of well known people having a relationship with Barbados can only be positive….
assuming that everything is not handed to them, that they contribute to the extent of the relationship and that they’re law abiding.
e.g. they should not be given free housing or require services at the tax payers expense.
They should be welcomed!!
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Comment LinkPage 1 of 1 pages