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Search foreBay bidding war for eccentric Lord of the Manor's lifestyle
Thursday, August 07, 2008, 20:59
Plymouth businessman David Piper, 58, has put his entire lifestyle up for sale as a single package on eBay.
He is selling his two hotels, two Bentleys, collection of paintings and his title as a Lord of the Manor.
Late last night the price hit £2.7 million – a jump of £2.5 million in just 24 hours.
Mr Piper hopes to get £4million by the time bidding closes on Monday. He is selling his businesses in Plymouth after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer and deciding to move to London for treatment.
He became internationally renowned five years ago when he advertised internationally as an English lord seeking a lady for his manor.
A catastrophic relationship with American Rosauri Capelleri, 32, lasted just days before she fled from his run-down stately home near Plymouth.
The advert in the International Herald Tribune attracted thousands of replies and Mr Piper says he is willing to introduce the successful buyer to the scores of suitors who contacted him.
He has since sold Warleigh House, at Tamerton Foliot, but retained the Lordship of the Manor of Warleigh and a six-acre farm from the estate which he is now hoping to sell.
Mr Piper owns a nine-bedroom hotel on the Hoe in Plymouth, a six-bedroom arts cafe and guest house and a three-bedroom flat nearby. His 1994 Bentley Brooklands and 2006 Bentley Continental are also included with his collection of modern paintings.
He believes the whole package was worth about £6 million a year ago but fears falling property prices have knocked £2 million off his assets.
He wants to raise at least £3 million to pay off debts from the renovation of his hotels. The twice divorced father of four says he is moving closer to his children in London where he is being treated at the University College Hospital.
"I am hoping to sell my entire life and lifestyle to one buyer if they have the money. I have a lot of assets but I am impoverished. I have no money and I owe a lot of money," he said.
If nobody comes up with an acceptable bid the assets could be broken up and sold more conventionally. The hotels and the cafe are all closed because he is not well enough to run them.
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