Nick Leslau
Encyclopedia
Nick Leslau is an English
commercial property
millionaire
, with an estimated fortune in the Sunday Times Rich List
of £200 million. He owns Thorpe Park
which he leases to Merlin Entertainment.
, his parents divorced when he was nine. His mother subsequently worked full time so that Leslau could be educated at a preparatory school
in Hampstead
, and at Mill Hill School
. Due to his then poverty and the fact his mother converted to Catholicism
, Leslau didn't have his barmitzvah until the age of 28 – which he describes as a $250 quickie at the Wailing Wall – in order to marry his wife Maxine. He was born into a poverty stricken family which led to his parents divorcing.
for 50p a round, and later buying umbrella
s in bulk to resell at a market stall. Aged 17, Leslau became manager of the Late Late Store, a grocery shop in Belsize Park
— one of his pizza
buying customers was ex-Mill Hill old boy and City financier
Nigel Wray.
Leslau left a degree studying German at the University of Warwick
, to study surveying
. After meeting Sam Rosen
, Leslau joined the ground rent
company of commodities traders Burford Group. He became a chartered surveyor
with the Burford, rising to junior partner in 1982. Age 23, Leslau became Chief Executive and, wanting to move further into property, met Wray again through business contacts, with the pair engineering a reverse takeover
of Wray's listed company Chartsearch in 1986 for £8 million. They expanded the company into a £1 billion enterprise, buying large parts of Oxford Street
and the Trocadero
centre. However, a poor deal with Sega
in the creation of SegaWorld
as an anchor tenant meant the company went through some difficult times.
's Alternative Investment Market
listed shell companies called Prestbury Group plc.
The board consisted of Leslau, Wray, Viscount Astor
, John Hodson (the then chief executive of private bank Singer & Friedlander) and Edelson. Over the next two years it produced a return of 150% on Net Asset Value and Leslau grew its total value to several hundreds of millions of pounds before taking it private in 2004.
and Julian Richer
. Once again, they reversed into an Edelson shell company, Knutsford Plc. The intention was to acquire a retail business to take advantage of the retailing skills of Norman (the former Chairman of Asda) and Richer, who had built up the dynamic retail group Richer Sounds
.
Within days of the transaction being announced, Knutsford had caught the imagination of the media and within weeks the value of the investment vehicle had soared to £1 billion, attracting attention from financial media around the world as potential acquisition targets were touted by the media such as Marks & Spencers and Sainsburys.
The overly speculative valuation was far in excess of anything the "Knutsford 4" and Edelson had anticipated and was in fact becoming problematic particularly because it proved a major stumbling block to concluding any deal. Although Knutsford eventually concluded a deal with WI Link (which continues to trade successfully), it could never hope to achieve the dizzy expectations generated by the media in the weeks after flotation.
To this day, Knutsford is cited as a case history in a number of business schools and is considered to have been the end of the dot com boom in the UK.
After Knutsford; in February 2001 Leslau set up private company Prestbury Investment Holdings, funded by HBOS
and Sir Tom Hunter
, with whom he has since done a number of Scottish
based joint ventures with Hunter's West Coast Capital. Leslau is now chairman and chief executive of PIHL, with the company presently owning a property portfolio estimated to be worth in excess of £4 billion, including four of the UK's largest entertainment complexes run by Merlin Entertainments
(Alton Towers
, Thorpe Park
, Warwick Castle
and Madame Tussauds
).
Leslau and his business partner Wray bought a Citation X in 2004.
, London. The couple have three sons, and own a Mediterranean based yacht
. As a lover of sport, Leslau owns one of W.G. Grace's cricket
bats, and is a part owner of Saracens F.C.
Rugby Union
club.
Thanks to his friend Tom Hunter, Leslau became interested in solving the world's problems: in 2006 they had a working holiday in Ayacucho
, Peru
; in 2007 to Malawi
to help build an orphanage
. In early 2008, Leslau took part in the Channel 4
programme Secret Millionaire
, giving away £400,000 in a ten day visit to Possil, Glasgow
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
commercial property
Commercial property
The term commercial property refers to buildings or land intended to generate a profit, either from capital gain or rental income.-Definition:...
millionaire
Millionaire
A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. It can also be a person who owns one million units of currency in a bank account or savings account...
, with an estimated fortune in the Sunday Times Rich List
Sunday Times Rich List
The Sunday Times Rich List is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families in the United Kingdom, updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday newspaper The Sunday Times since 1989...
of £200 million. He owns Thorpe Park
Thorpe Park
Thorpe Park is a theme park located in Chertsey, Surrey, England, UK. It was built in 1979 on the site of a gravel pit which was partially flooded, the intention of creating a water based theme for the park. The park's first large roller coaster, Colossus, was added in 2002...
which he leases to Merlin Entertainment.
Biography
The son of a father who was a jeweller and skilled part-time art historianArt history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
, his parents divorced when he was nine. His mother subsequently worked full time so that Leslau could be educated at a preparatory school
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
in Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
, and at Mill Hill School
Mill Hill School
Mill Hill School, in Mill Hill, London, is a coeducational independent school for boarding and day pupils aged 13–18. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, an organisation of public schools in the United Kingdom....
. Due to his then poverty and the fact his mother converted to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
, Leslau didn't have his barmitzvah until the age of 28 – which he describes as a $250 quickie at the Wailing Wall – in order to marry his wife Maxine. He was born into a poverty stricken family which led to his parents divorcing.
Career
As a teenager, Leslau took a job helping the local milkmanMilkman
A milkman is a person, traditionally male, who delivers milk in milk bottles or cartons. Milk deliveries frequently occur in the morning and it is not uncommon for milkmen to deliver products other than milk such as eggs, cream, cheese, butter, yogurt or soft drinks...
for 50p a round, and later buying umbrella
Umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain...
s in bulk to resell at a market stall. Aged 17, Leslau became manager of the Late Late Store, a grocery shop in Belsize Park
Belsize Park
Belsize Park is an area of north-west London, England, in the London Borough of Camden.It is located north-west of Charing Cross and situated on the Northern Line. It borders Hampstead to the north and west, Kentish Town and Gospel Oak to the east, Camden Town to the south east and Primrose Hill...
— one of his pizza
Pizza
Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...
buying customers was ex-Mill Hill old boy and City financier
Financier
Financier is a term for a person who handles typically large sums of money, usually involving money lending, financing projects, large-scale investing, or large-scale money management. The term is French, and derives from finance or payment...
Nigel Wray.
Leslau left a degree studying German at the University of Warwick
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
, to study surveying
Quantity surveyor
A quantity surveyor is a professional working within the construction industry concerned with building costs.The profession is one that provides a qualification gained following formal education, specific training and experience that provides a general set of skills that are then applied to a...
. After meeting Sam Rosen
Sam Rosen
Sam Rosen may refer to:* Sam Rosen * Sam Rosen * Sam Rosen - A character in the Tom Clancy novel Without Remorse...
, Leslau joined the ground rent
Ground rent
Ground rent, sometimes known as a rentcharge, is a regular payment required under a lease from the owner of leasehold property, payable to the freeholder. A ground rent is created when a freehold piece of land or a building is sold on a long lease...
company of commodities traders Burford Group. He became a chartered surveyor
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is an independent, representative professional body which regulates property professionals and surveyors in the United Kingdom and other sovereign nations....
with the Burford, rising to junior partner in 1982. Age 23, Leslau became Chief Executive and, wanting to move further into property, met Wray again through business contacts, with the pair engineering a reverse takeover
Reverse takeover
A reverse takeover or reverse merger is the acquisition of a public company by a private company so that the private company can bypass the lengthy and complex process of going public...
of Wray's listed company Chartsearch in 1986 for £8 million. They expanded the company into a £1 billion enterprise, buying large parts of Oxford Street
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...
and the Trocadero
Trocadero (London)
The London Trocadero is an entertainment complex in Shaftesbury Avenue, London originally built as a restaurant but most recently used as an exhibition and entertainment space....
centre. However, a poor deal with Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
in the creation of SegaWorld
SegaWorld
SegaWorld is a name referring to one of a number of now defunct theme parks and arcades worldwide, including installations in the United Kingdom, China and Australia...
as an anchor tenant meant the company went through some difficult times.
Prestbury
In 1997, Leslau and Wray started their own small property company Maybeat Limited, which they reversed into one of Michael EdelsonMichael Edelson
Michael Edelson is a non-executive Director of Manchester United F.C. He is an angel investor, venture capitalist and philanthropist who has been instrumental in creating numerous cash shell companies on both AIM and PLUS...
's Alternative Investment Market
Alternative Investment Market
AIM is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange, allowing smaller companies to float shares with a more flexible regulatory system than is applicable to the main market....
listed shell companies called Prestbury Group plc.
The board consisted of Leslau, Wray, Viscount Astor
Viscount Astor
Viscount Astor, of Hever Castle in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1917 for the financier and statesman William Waldorf Astor, 1st Baron Astor. He had already been created Baron Astor, of Hever Castle in the County of Kent, in 1916, also in the...
, John Hodson (the then chief executive of private bank Singer & Friedlander) and Edelson. Over the next two years it produced a return of 150% on Net Asset Value and Leslau grew its total value to several hundreds of millions of pounds before taking it private in 2004.
Knutsford
In 1999, Leslau set up an investment vehicle, Edenhawk, together with friends Wray, Archie NormanArchie Norman
Archibald John Norman is a British businessman and politician. He is at present the only FTSE 100 chairman to have sat in the House of Commons. On 18 November 2009, Norman was announced as the new chairman of ITV plc...
and Julian Richer
Julian Richer
Julian Richer is a prominent British retailer, best known as the founder and 100% shareholder of Richer Sounds, the UK’s biggest hi-fi retailer. He is also the owner of EmpireDirect.co.uk...
. Once again, they reversed into an Edelson shell company, Knutsford Plc. The intention was to acquire a retail business to take advantage of the retailing skills of Norman (the former Chairman of Asda) and Richer, who had built up the dynamic retail group Richer Sounds
Richer Sounds
Richer Sounds is a British home entertainment retailer that operates online and through a chain of 51 stores distributed across the United Kingdom. The business is 100% owned by Julian Richer, the founder and managing director of the company....
.
Within days of the transaction being announced, Knutsford had caught the imagination of the media and within weeks the value of the investment vehicle had soared to £1 billion, attracting attention from financial media around the world as potential acquisition targets were touted by the media such as Marks & Spencers and Sainsburys.
The overly speculative valuation was far in excess of anything the "Knutsford 4" and Edelson had anticipated and was in fact becoming problematic particularly because it proved a major stumbling block to concluding any deal. Although Knutsford eventually concluded a deal with WI Link (which continues to trade successfully), it could never hope to achieve the dizzy expectations generated by the media in the weeks after flotation.
To this day, Knutsford is cited as a case history in a number of business schools and is considered to have been the end of the dot com boom in the UK.
After Knutsford; in February 2001 Leslau set up private company Prestbury Investment Holdings, funded by HBOS
HBOS
HBOS plc is a banking and insurance company in the United Kingdom, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lloyds Banking Group having been taken over in January 2009...
and Sir Tom Hunter
Tom Hunter
Sir Thomas Blane Hunter is a Scottish businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.In April 2007, Hunter was reported in the Sunday Times Rich List as the first ever home-grown billionaire in Scotland, with an estimated wealth of £1.05 billion...
, with whom he has since done a number of Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
based joint ventures with Hunter's West Coast Capital. Leslau is now chairman and chief executive of PIHL, with the company presently owning a property portfolio estimated to be worth in excess of £4 billion, including four of the UK's largest entertainment complexes run by Merlin Entertainments
Merlin Entertainments
Merlin Entertainments Group Ltd is a British operator of amusement parks and other attractions. It is the largest such company in Europe, and globally the second largest after Walt Disney Parks and Resorts....
(Alton Towers
Alton Towers
Alton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe...
, Thorpe Park
Thorpe Park
Thorpe Park is a theme park located in Chertsey, Surrey, England, UK. It was built in 1979 on the site of a gravel pit which was partially flooded, the intention of creating a water based theme for the park. The park's first large roller coaster, Colossus, was added in 2002...
, Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle is a medieval castle in Warwick, the county town of Warwickshire, England. It sits on a bend on the River Avon. The castle was built by William the Conqueror in 1068 within or adjacent to the Anglo-Saxon burh of Warwick. It was used as a fortification until the early 17th century,...
and Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds is a wax museum in London with branches in a number of major cities. It was founded by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud and was formerly known as "Madame Tussaud's", but the apostrophe is no longer used...
).
Leslau and his business partner Wray bought a Citation X in 2004.
Personal life
Leslau and his wife Maxine live in a £30 million property he bought in MayfairMayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
, London. The couple have three sons, and own a Mediterranean based yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
. As a lover of sport, Leslau owns one of W.G. Grace's cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
bats, and is a part owner of Saracens F.C.
Saracens F.C.
Saracens are a professional rugby union team based in St. Albans, England – although they play their home games at Vicarage Road, in Watford. They are currently members of the Aviva Premiership, the top level of domestic rugby union in England...
Rugby Union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
club.
Thanks to his friend Tom Hunter, Leslau became interested in solving the world's problems: in 2006 they had a working holiday in Ayacucho
Ayacucho
Ayacucho is the capital city of Huamanga Province, Ayacucho Region, Peru.Ayacucho is famous for its 33 churches, which represent one for each year of Jesus's life. Ayacucho has large religious celebrations, especially during the Holy Week of Easter...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
; in 2007 to Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
to help build an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
. In early 2008, Leslau took part in the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
programme Secret Millionaire
Secret Millionaire
The Secret Millionaire is a reality television show which originated in the UK, in which millionaires go incognito into impoverished communities and agree to give away tens of thousands of pounds . Members of the community are told the cameras are present to film a documentary...
, giving away £400,000 in a ten day visit to Possil, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
.