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Earl of Cardigan loses appeal over sale of Tottenham House | Earl of Cardigan loses appeal over sale of Tottenham House |
(about 2 hours later) | |
The Earl of Cardigan has failed in his bid to block the sale of the family's ancestral home in Wiltshire. | |
Trustees have approved the £11.25m sale of Tottenham House, a 100-room stately home on the 4,500-acre Savernake Estate. | |
The earl took the case to the Court of Appeal, saying the fee is "inadequate" and the result of an ineffective and inadequate marketing exercise. | |
But appeal judges unanimously agreed to dismiss his objections. | But appeal judges unanimously agreed to dismiss his objections. |
Tottenham House, near Marlborough, has been in the family for nearly 200 years. | Tottenham House, near Marlborough, has been in the family for nearly 200 years. |
But Lord Justice Vos said it had been unoccupied since the 1990s and was decaying. | But Lord Justice Vos said it had been unoccupied since the 1990s and was decaying. |
"Everyone now agrees it must be sold; what is in dispute is the process by which the sale should be achieved," he said. | |
The judge said the estate's trustees were seeking approval "for their momentous decision" to sell Tottenham House to an unnamed buyer, known only as Mr A, for £11.25m. | The judge said the estate's trustees were seeking approval "for their momentous decision" to sell Tottenham House to an unnamed buyer, known only as Mr A, for £11.25m. |
They said the intended sale price was a "good one that represents an opportunity not to be missed". | They said the intended sale price was a "good one that represents an opportunity not to be missed". |
But the 60-year-old aristocrat regarded the price as "inadequate" and took legal action to have the trustees removed "broadly on the grounds that they are unfit to act". | But the 60-year-old aristocrat regarded the price as "inadequate" and took legal action to have the trustees removed "broadly on the grounds that they are unfit to act". |
Dismissing the earl's appeal, Lord Justice Vos said the trustees' decision to sell to Mr A was "one which reasonable trustees could properly take in the interests of the beneficiaries". | Dismissing the earl's appeal, Lord Justice Vos said the trustees' decision to sell to Mr A was "one which reasonable trustees could properly take in the interests of the beneficiaries". |
The main beneficiaries of the trust, according to the judge, are the earl and his son, Lord Savernake. | The main beneficiaries of the trust, according to the judge, are the earl and his son, Lord Savernake. |