Urs Schwarzenbach
Encyclopedia
Urs Schwarzenbach is a Swiss
-born financier
based in the United Kingdom
.
Schwarzenbach set up Interexchange, the largest foreign exchange
dealership in Switzerland. Through its success he has bought well over £300m of property in the UK, 123000 acres (497.8 km²) in Australia
, a palace in Morocco
, £17m of assets in the aviation
field and the Grand Hotel Dolder
in Zürich
. He also has his own polo
team, the Black Bears.
He personally backed the racing
-themed restaurant Café Grand Prix in Mayfair
, London
, but this went into liquidation in 2004.
Known locally as "Short Urs" due his diminutive stature, Schwarzenbach lives at Culham Court near Henley-on-Thames
and sponsored the rowing
gallery of the River and Rowing Museum
in Henley which is named after him. He also owns other estates and farms in England, a 10,000 acre sporting estate in Scotland
and the largest country estate on the Isle of Wight. His wife, Francesca, is a former Miss Australia who still retains a statuesque beauty. The couple have two adult children.
In 2005, Urs was estimated to be worth around £900m and, according to The Sunday Times Rich List 2008, he was ranked 88 and was then worth circa £842m.
Like all such lists, no one really knows the full extent of his wealth given the complex structuring of the many family offshore trusts, and the tentacles of power such wealth generates. So it is perhaps no surprise that in March 2011, reporters from The Sunday Times were making enquiries about Schwarzenbach's financing of various Russian and Chinese enterprises and individuals.
Such connections may explain the very obvious and very heavy security measures in place around his various homes and the 24/7 patrols by ex-servicemen, some of whom originate from Hereford. However this very visible presence has now gained the attention of the travelling community who make frequent "contact" with, and occasionally "acquisitions" from, the estate.
The ineptitude of the Thames Valley Police following a £50,000 theft of quad bikes and other estate equipment in 2007 infuriated Urs so much that that he brought in Kroll Security to investigate.
In 2007, Schwarzenbach outbid other foreign buyers to acquire Culham Court, a 650 acres (2.6 km²) riverside estate downstream of Henley-on-Thames on the Berkshire bank. Originally put on the market for £25 million, he paid £35 million just four days later and immediately proceeded on a multi-million pound, five year refurbishment programme with dozens of workmen and artisans on site at any one time. French craftsmen were drafted in for the bedrooms' pure silk wall coverings and work continues in July 2011.
Schwarzenbach bought the estate from Paddy and Annabel Nicoll: Mrs Nicoll's father was Martyn Arbib, former head of the Perpetual fund management company, who bought the estate as a wedding present for her in 1997 for a mere £12 million.
Coincidentally, Culham's connections with the world of finance run deeper still: Arbib acquired the property from Felicity Behrens, wife of the banker Michael Behrens, who lived there for nearly half a century from 1949 to 1996.
Schwarzenbach's development of the Culham Court estate continues apace with the on-going extension of the existing 90 acres (364,217.4 m²) deer park requiring over 4 kilometres of wrought iron deer fencing, a helipad for the "his" and "hers" choppers, a mile long "London" drive through woodland to the main road, the 2010 £8 million acquisition of three cottages and the original walled gardens which will be reinstated to provide fresh fruit and vegetables for the main house, a new ha-ha, and an extensive state of the art 24/7 security system including a "hard" room.
A new, county standard cricket pitch is under construction in July 2011, together with a pavilion though unfortunately no one appears to have told Urs this land regularly floods!
The latest creation is a maze requiring the planting of 20,000 mature yew bushes and this is just part of the 20 year grand plan that has devised for the gardens and grounds.
Another property acquired for £2m in 2010, and situated on raised ground that overlooks Culham Court, is set to be demolished and "Culham Cathedral", a Roman Catholic chapel, is to be built in its place.
The Schwarzenbachs give so generously to the Roman Catholic church that in 2010, both Urs and Francesca were awarded the GCSG as knight and dame respectively of the Pontifical Order of Saint Gregory the Great. This award is directly in the gift of the Pope himself.
Symms, the Oxford based building company undertaking all the work on the Culham estate, now sponsors the Hambleden Horse Trials. Schwarzenbach bought that entire village on the opposite side of the river to Culham Court for £38 million in 2007.
In 2008, it was widely reported in the press that Schwarzenbach had bought nearby Fawley Court for £22 million. Another substantial riverside property on the outskirts of Henley-on-Thames and once owned in the nineteenth century by a Scottish banker, it was sold in controversial circumstances by the Congregation of Marian Fathers, a Polish religious community which had no further use for it.
Subsequently Aida Hersham, who describes herself as a philanthropist and is often to be seen in the company of Francesca Schwarzenbach, announced that she was the new owner of Fawley Court having paid just £13 million for the property. Interestingly Urs Schwarzenbach has never issued any denial of, or correction to, those original press reports and all the local and national estate agents are well aware of his potential interest in any major riverside property that may come to market in the Henley area.
In July 2011, Aida Hersham was sued for £5 million "commission" by Richard Butler-Creagh over the Fawley Court purchase. Aida's company vehicle used for the purchase transaction has since won it's counter claim against Butler-Creagh and, as an aside, here's what the Honourable Mr Justice Eady had to say [and he wasn't exactly complimentary!]: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2011/2525.html
But bach to Urs. On September 1 2011, Urs completed on the £6 million purchase of several hundred acres of riverside farmland around the local villages of Aston and Remenham. This land was acquired from the usually acquisitive Copas Farm Partnership at a price per acre / hectare well in excess of current agricultural values as Schwarzenbach endeavours to increase the extent of the Culham estate.
The villagers of Remenham have been disappointed to learn that this land acquisition did not include the area leased out by Copas for corporate hospitality during the Henley Royal Regatta, the Henley Music Festival that follows the rowing, and the Rewind Festival later in the summer season. THe latter event in particular causes much noise and aggravation to the local residents over its three days of retro music.
On October 1 2011, extensive building works continue on the main house yet again with Symms continuing to be the main benficiary of the contract and work at the two lodges adjacent to the A4130 at the main entrance to the "London drive" are still not complete after well over a year and some interesting underground developments.
Read more:
http://www.papalknights.org.uk/assoc-members.html
http://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/news.php?tabp=y&id=766408
http://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/news.php?id=428279
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fawley_Court
http://www.thehambledenestate.com
http://www.symminternationalhorsetrials.co.uk
http://thames.me.uk/s00870.htm
http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/buying_and_selling/article670504.ece
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-402532/Financier-offers-10m-asking-price-record-country-house-sale.html#ixzz0zYDJBTFw
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2011/2525.html
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
-born 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...
based in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Schwarzenbach set up Interexchange, the largest foreign exchange
Foreign exchange market
The foreign exchange market is a global, worldwide decentralized financial market for trading currencies. Financial centers around the world function as anchors of trading between a wide range of different types of buyers and sellers around the clock, with the exception of weekends...
dealership in Switzerland. Through its success he has bought well over £300m of property in the UK, 123000 acres (497.8 km²) in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, a palace in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, £17m of assets in the aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
field and the Grand Hotel Dolder
Grand Hotel Dolder
The Dolder Grand is a 5 star superior hotel in Zürich. Built in 1899, the hotel is located on Adlisberg hill, spreading out over 40'000 m²...
in Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
. He also has his own polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
team, the Black Bears.
He personally backed the racing
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
-themed restaurant Café Grand Prix in Mayfair
Mayfair
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
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, but this went into liquidation in 2004.
Known locally as "Short Urs" due his diminutive stature, Schwarzenbach lives at Culham Court near Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead...
and sponsored the rowing
Sport rowing
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
gallery of the River and Rowing Museum
River and Rowing Museum
The River and Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, is located on a site at Mill Meadows by the River Thames. It has three main themes represented by major permanent galleries, the non-tidal River Thames, the international sport of rowing and the local town of...
in Henley which is named after him. He also owns other estates and farms in England, a 10,000 acre sporting estate in Scotland
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...
and the largest country estate on the Isle of Wight. His wife, Francesca, is a former Miss Australia who still retains a statuesque beauty. The couple have two adult children.
In 2005, Urs was estimated to be worth around £900m and, according to The Sunday Times Rich List 2008, he was ranked 88 and was then worth circa £842m.
Like all such lists, no one really knows the full extent of his wealth given the complex structuring of the many family offshore trusts, and the tentacles of power such wealth generates. So it is perhaps no surprise that in March 2011, reporters from The Sunday Times were making enquiries about Schwarzenbach's financing of various Russian and Chinese enterprises and individuals.
Such connections may explain the very obvious and very heavy security measures in place around his various homes and the 24/7 patrols by ex-servicemen, some of whom originate from Hereford. However this very visible presence has now gained the attention of the travelling community who make frequent "contact" with, and occasionally "acquisitions" from, the estate.
The ineptitude of the Thames Valley Police following a £50,000 theft of quad bikes and other estate equipment in 2007 infuriated Urs so much that that he brought in Kroll Security to investigate.
In 2007, Schwarzenbach outbid other foreign buyers to acquire Culham Court, a 650 acres (2.6 km²) riverside estate downstream of Henley-on-Thames on the Berkshire bank. Originally put on the market for £25 million, he paid £35 million just four days later and immediately proceeded on a multi-million pound, five year refurbishment programme with dozens of workmen and artisans on site at any one time. French craftsmen were drafted in for the bedrooms' pure silk wall coverings and work continues in July 2011.
Schwarzenbach bought the estate from Paddy and Annabel Nicoll: Mrs Nicoll's father was Martyn Arbib, former head of the Perpetual fund management company, who bought the estate as a wedding present for her in 1997 for a mere £12 million.
Coincidentally, Culham's connections with the world of finance run deeper still: Arbib acquired the property from Felicity Behrens, wife of the banker Michael Behrens, who lived there for nearly half a century from 1949 to 1996.
Schwarzenbach's development of the Culham Court estate continues apace with the on-going extension of the existing 90 acres (364,217.4 m²) deer park requiring over 4 kilometres of wrought iron deer fencing, a helipad for the "his" and "hers" choppers, a mile long "London" drive through woodland to the main road, the 2010 £8 million acquisition of three cottages and the original walled gardens which will be reinstated to provide fresh fruit and vegetables for the main house, a new ha-ha, and an extensive state of the art 24/7 security system including a "hard" room.
A new, county standard cricket pitch is under construction in July 2011, together with a pavilion though unfortunately no one appears to have told Urs this land regularly floods!
The latest creation is a maze requiring the planting of 20,000 mature yew bushes and this is just part of the 20 year grand plan that has devised for the gardens and grounds.
Another property acquired for £2m in 2010, and situated on raised ground that overlooks Culham Court, is set to be demolished and "Culham Cathedral", a Roman Catholic chapel, is to be built in its place.
The Schwarzenbachs give so generously to the Roman Catholic church that in 2010, both Urs and Francesca were awarded the GCSG as knight and dame respectively of the Pontifical Order of Saint Gregory the Great. This award is directly in the gift of the Pope himself.
Symms, the Oxford based building company undertaking all the work on the Culham estate, now sponsors the Hambleden Horse Trials. Schwarzenbach bought that entire village on the opposite side of the river to Culham Court for £38 million in 2007.
In 2008, it was widely reported in the press that Schwarzenbach had bought nearby Fawley Court for £22 million. Another substantial riverside property on the outskirts of Henley-on-Thames and once owned in the nineteenth century by a Scottish banker, it was sold in controversial circumstances by the Congregation of Marian Fathers, a Polish religious community which had no further use for it.
Subsequently Aida Hersham, who describes herself as a philanthropist and is often to be seen in the company of Francesca Schwarzenbach, announced that she was the new owner of Fawley Court having paid just £13 million for the property. Interestingly Urs Schwarzenbach has never issued any denial of, or correction to, those original press reports and all the local and national estate agents are well aware of his potential interest in any major riverside property that may come to market in the Henley area.
In July 2011, Aida Hersham was sued for £5 million "commission" by Richard Butler-Creagh over the Fawley Court purchase. Aida's company vehicle used for the purchase transaction has since won it's counter claim against Butler-Creagh and, as an aside, here's what the Honourable Mr Justice Eady had to say [and he wasn't exactly complimentary!]: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2011/2525.html
But bach to Urs. On September 1 2011, Urs completed on the £6 million purchase of several hundred acres of riverside farmland around the local villages of Aston and Remenham. This land was acquired from the usually acquisitive Copas Farm Partnership at a price per acre / hectare well in excess of current agricultural values as Schwarzenbach endeavours to increase the extent of the Culham estate.
The villagers of Remenham have been disappointed to learn that this land acquisition did not include the area leased out by Copas for corporate hospitality during the Henley Royal Regatta, the Henley Music Festival that follows the rowing, and the Rewind Festival later in the summer season. THe latter event in particular causes much noise and aggravation to the local residents over its three days of retro music.
On October 1 2011, extensive building works continue on the main house yet again with Symms continuing to be the main benficiary of the contract and work at the two lodges adjacent to the A4130 at the main entrance to the "London drive" are still not complete after well over a year and some interesting underground developments.
Read more:
http://www.papalknights.org.uk/assoc-members.html
http://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/news.php?tabp=y&id=766408
http://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/news.php?id=428279
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fawley_Court
http://www.thehambledenestate.com
http://www.symminternationalhorsetrials.co.uk
http://thames.me.uk/s00870.htm
http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/buying_and_selling/article670504.ece
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-402532/Financier-offers-10m-asking-price-record-country-house-sale.html#ixzz0zYDJBTFw
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2011/2525.html
External links
- Rich List entry, Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times (UK)The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
, 2005 - Dolder Grand Hotel, Zürich, Switzerland
- Cafe Grand Prix Complex, Mayfair, London