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London property tycoon Scot Young dies after falling on to railings London property tycoon Scot Young dies after falling on to railings
(about 5 hours later)
Bankrupt property tycoon Scot Young, who was sent to prison during a vitriolic and very public divorce row, has died after reportedly falling on to railings outside a central London property. A bankrupt property tycoon, who was jailed for refusing to reveal details of his wealth during an acrimonious divorce battle, has died after falling on to railings outside a luxury apartment in central London.
Young, known for fighting a long legal battle with his estranged wife over a multimillion pound settlement, died on Monday evening, according to a spokeswoman for his girlfriend, Noelle Reno. Scot Young, 52, fell four storeys from the window of the £3m rented flat in Marylebone on Monday evening. The death is not being treated as suspicious.
He is believed to have fallen on to railings outside a property in Montagu Square, Marylebone, central London. Police said his death was not being treated as suspicious. Young was jailed for six months in January 2013 in the course of a lengthy legal battle with his ex-wife Michelle Young, 50, over a multimillion pound settlement following litigation described as “quite extraordinary” by a high court judge.
A spokesman for Scotland Yard said: “Police were called to Montagu Square, W1, at 17.18hrs on Monday 8 December, to reports of a man having fallen from a fourth floor window. His former wife, who eventually won a £20m settlement following the six-year court fight, told the Evening Standard she was with the couple’s two daughters after hearing news of his death. “We have been to hell and back,” she said. “It is a very difficult time for us all.”
Neighbours said Young and his American girlfriend, Noelle Reno, 31, had been living for a few months at the property, which is opposite the Swedish embassy and adjacent to the Swiss embassy.
Young, whose friends are said to have included the Topshop billionaire Sir Philip Green and restauranteur Richard Caring, became successful through property, business and as a fixer for the super rich.
In 2006, when the couple separated, he had reportedly built up a £400m fortune. He and his ex-wife had a nine-bedroomed Oxfordshire mansion and a £6m Florida beach house and enjoyed holidays aboard a private yacht.
In 2009 he was ordered to hand his ex-wife £27,500 a month for rent and school fees for their daughters, with her lawyers claiming he was living a playboy lifestyle “going from party to party with champagne glass in his hand and his current girlfriend, some supermodel or other, on his arm”.
He claimed the collapse of a business venture had left him unable to pay.
During the bitter divorce battle, his ex-wife alleged he was worth “a few billion pounds at least” and had hidden a “vast fortune”.
Judge Mr Justice Moor eventually assessed Young was worth £40m and that his ex-wife was entitled to half. Young was jailed in January 2013 for what the judge described as a “flagrant and deliberate” contempt of court.
The court heard his former wife had run up a legal bill of more than £6m and had employed 13 sets of lawyers and four teams of accountants. She had still not received the £20m three months after she was awarded it, it emerged during one court hearing.
It was a “sad fact”, said the judge, that both parties had suffered from serious ill health during the course of the proceedings. Young had claimed in court he had been detained in hospital under mental health legislation and had been unable to secure the services of a barrister. He also said he had been harassed by private detectives employed by his ex-wife.
Young and Reno, who describes herself as a “fashion entrepreneur” on her Twitter profile, appeared together in the reality show Ladies of London, which recently aired on ITVBe. The two appeared alongside model Caprice during the series, which followed them as they viewed upmarket places to potentially rent in London.
A spokesman for Scotland Yard said: “Police were called to Montagu Square, W1, at 17.18hrs on Monday 8 December, to reports of a man having fallen from a fourth-floor window.
“A man, believed aged in his early 50s, was pronounced dead at the scene.“A man, believed aged in his early 50s, was pronounced dead at the scene.
“The death is not being treated as suspicious at this time.”“The death is not being treated as suspicious at this time.”
In March a high court hearing was told Young’s estranged wife remained empty-handed more than three months after she was awarded £20m by a judge.
A lawyer representing Michelle Young told judge Mr Justice Moor there had been ”zero recoveries” from Young.
In November last year, Moor assessed Young to be worth £40m after analysing evidence at a trial and said Mrs Young was entitled to half of that.
The judge said Young might have hidden assets offshore and said he knew Mrs Young would find it hard to enforce his order, but Young would never be free of the debt.
Mrs Young said she thought Young was worth billions and claimed he had hidden a “vast fortune”.
Young said he had suffered a financial meltdown seven years ago and was bankrupt, with debts adding up to £28m.
The judge described the litigation – which began more than six years ago – as ”quite extraordinary”.
He said over the years Mrs Young had run up a legal bill of more than £6m and employed 13 sets of lawyers and four teams of accountants.
The judge heard the Youngs, who had two daughters, separated in 2006 after starting a relationship in 1989.
Young and his American girlfriend Reno, who describes herself as a fashion entrepreneur on her Twitter profile, appeared together in reality show Ladies Of London.
The programme is similar to the Real Housewives franchise and the final episode was aired earlier this month on ITVBe.
The pair starred alongside model Caprice.
During the series, which also starred socialite and businesswoman Caroline Stanbury and the late Alexander McQueen’s muse Annabelle Neilson, Reno referred to Young’s divorce battle and the press coverage of it.
Cameras followed the couple as they viewed plush places to potentially rent in London as well as showing them in social situations with their co-stars.
Reno’s most recent tweet, posted on 7 December, said: “No matter what the day throws, I know I can handle it if my day starts with meditation (even if it’s day #4 of insane xmas parties!!)”