23/05/2010
NEWS STORY
We all knew that former Red Bull and McLaren driver David Coulthard owned a hotel or two but a report in today's Independent by Pitpass' business editor Chris Sylt reveals that the canny Scot had much more than just a sideline in this field. According to the report, Coulthard sold his stake in Monaco's swanky Columbus hotel last month for £30.3m - nearly as much as the £34.9m he is believed to have earned in salary across his entire 14-year career in F1. Not bad for a hobby.
The hotel was sold to London & Regional, a property firm owned by billionaire brothers Ian and Richard Livingstone. London & Regional is one one of the largest private hotel owners in Europe. The jewels in its crown are three of the most prestigious hotels in London - the iconic Hilton Park Lane, the Hilton Trafalgar Square and the Hilton Green Park.
The Columbus will boost London & Regional's presence on the Côte d'Azur where it is not as widespread as in the UK. Its flagship hotel on the Riviera is the region's largest hotel, the 602-room Fairmont Monte Carlo. With just 181 rooms, the Columbus is smaller and it is also newer. Built in 1989, the hotel sits on Monaco's lesser-known second harbour built on land reclaimed from the Mediterranean.
The hotel was originally named the Abela and was bought in 2000 by Coulthard and Ken McCulloch, founder of the boutique hotel chain Malmaison. US property investor Phillip Morris was also a shareholder with the three believed to have held equal stakes. A dispute between them led to the hotel being put on the market by property agent Christie & Co in July 2007.
Coulthard's accountants claimed that cash was unaccounted for at the Columbus and the allegation led to lawsuits in Luxembourg, Monaco and London.
A similar dispute put the brakes on the Columbus' sister hotel, the Dakota in Nottingham, which Coulthard forced into liquidation in May 2008 after he reportedly lent it hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The Columbus failed to sell with its owners in deadlock and it was put back on the market in February last year. The key to progress came when McCulloch sold his stake in the Columbus for around £4.4m to Coulthard giving him 70% overall. This put Coulthard in the driving seat to broker the sale of the hotel without being held up by differences of opinion.
Although Coulthard has handed over the keys to the Columbus he still has an apartment in Monaco. Ironically, in 2005, when the three former owners of the hotel were still on speaking terms, Sylt interviewed McCulloch who told him "I've always said to David, this will be the most successful thing you've ever been involved in and it will be." Despite the disputes which followed there is little doubt that McCulloch was right.