Superbly undeterred by his ‘devilish results’ – two Ds and an A-level F – at £45,500 a year Canford School, Nick Robertson set up a £1.4bn company and enjoyed the trappings of a contemporary magnate. , with properties in London, Oxfordshire and France, plus a Bentley, a Mercedes and a Ferrari in its fleet.
But could the co-founder of online clothing giant ASOS find themselves in troubled waters?
I ask because the 55-year-old, a great-grandson of menswear founder Austin Reed, is preparing to say goodbye to his 125ft yacht Sosa.
As you might imagine, the yacht, which has a top speed of 18 knots per hour, is very much a rich man’s plaything.
With interiors in a ‘soothing palette of cream and soft silver’, a jacuzzi and a ‘chic’ bar, Sosa has five cabins that are spacious enough for a dozen guests – completely separate, of course, from the quarters for the seven-man crew. Upstairs, on the upper deck, all 12 guests can dine under the stars or watch a movie on the outdoor cinema screen.
Choppy waters? Tycoon Nick Robertson says goodbye to Sosa
Good trip! The £11.5 million 125ft yacht Sosa
Robertson, winner of numerous awards for his entrepreneurial talent, declined to comment. Maybe the goodbye is too hard to bear. He once offered four nights in the Mediterranean aboard the Sosa – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – at an ASOS charity auction. Intriguingly, the details state that the yacht is now permanently up for sale, with a price tag of £11.5 million, courtesy of a ‘motivated seller’.
The sale comes seven years after Robertson endured a rather expensive divorce in which he was ordered by the High Court to pay his wife Janice £70 million as a final settlement.
He consoled himself by buying a pair of houses – for £8 million and £3 million respectively – to share with his now wife and former personal assistant, Charlotte Balin, 15 years his junior.
ASOS, of which Robertson remains a non-executive director, has seen its shares lose 90 percent of their value since March 2021.
Some feel like a bargain – chief among them is irrepressible billionaire Mike Ashley. Just last week, the founder of Sports Direct increased his stake in Asos to almost 20 percent. He might also pick up on Sosa and use her for office parties.
Their gold medal-winning skating performance at the 1984 Winter Olympics was watched by a British television audience of over 24 million, but Torvill and Dean’s dance to Ravel’s Bolero will never be repeated.
“We can’t physically do the Bolero performance again because Chris can’t do the splits anymore,” reveals Jayne Torvill. “Chris calls it ‘age-appropriate skating’.”
She and Christopher Dean, both 65, skate together on ITV’s hit show Dancing On Ice. “We still love performing,” she says. “At the moment we are allowed to do two performances during the series.”
Choice of sides
The opportunity: The launch party for Pavyllon London restaurant and Bar Antoine at the Four Seasons Park Lane.
Daddy’s Girl: Actress and model Poppy Delevingne wore what appeared to be her nightgown. Poppy, 37, who lives in Los Angeles, was accompanied by her father, real estate developer Charles. “There are only a few events that would make me fly home for 24 hours, and having my dad there as my date was extra special,” she tells me.
Snack Time: Model Daisy Lowe says her first child, Ivy, born in April, isn’t quite ready for chef Yannick Alléno’s French cuisine. “I brought Ivy here for lunch, but she’s just started carrots,” she tells me. Lowe was joined by TV chef Gizzi Erskine, who declined an invitation to the chefs’ private party. “I have to behave these days — and chefs are so naughty,” she says.
Matt is a kitchen wizard: Former Bros singer Matt Goss boasts, “In my eyes I’m a legendary chef, but I’m one of those chefs who just throws in whatever I like and hopes for the best.”
Gold: Actress and model Poppy Delevingne wore what looked like her nightgown
Smiles: Matt Goss and Chantal Brown are pictured together at the event
Party: Gizzi Erskine and Daisy Lowe attend Pavyllon London’s VIP launch
Is this why Prince William took the train to Bournemouth yesterday?
The Royal Family is in urgent need of a ‘Transport Coordinator’ and is advertising someone who can lead the Firm’s driver team.
With a salary of £30,000 a year, applicants are warned that ‘the standards we strive for will be the biggest challenge’.
The ad on the royal website also read: ‘As you help coordinate a team of drivers (who form part of the Royal Mews), you play an important role in moving and transporting Royal Household staff. ‘
Tory MP Ian Liddell-Grainger, a great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria, had a smashing attack on his local water company, South West Water, in the House of Commons yesterday, calling it “the nastiest and leakiest supplier in the country” and the Speaker , Gill Rider, of ‘running a gang’.
The MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset noted that Rider used to be a Downing Street Cabinet Office official – ‘so she’s used to leaks’.
Touche!
Sir Mick Jagger once sang about girls walking by dressed in summer clothes, but his ex-wife Bianca was painted black at a party in sweltering London.
The Nicaraguan-born human rights activist, 78, was a striking figure at the Islington event in an elegant off-the-shoulder dress and matching black cane.
Bianca was married to the Rolling Stones frontman for seven years in the 1970s and is the mother of one of his daughters, Jade.
London: Bianca (pictured) was married to the Rolling Stones frontman for seven years in the 1970s
Jools hooked Jamie with a love bite
It was love at first sight for Jamie Oliver when his future wife, Jools, visited his childhood home when they were teenagers.
“I remember the first thing she ate,” says the television chef. “She came to my house and ate a ‘Full Monty’ spread really quickly, and she ate a lot. So I remember thinking, “She knows how to eat, I like her.”
“My wife’s love of food really turned me on.”
Jamie, who has five children with Jools, adds: ‘The first thing I cooked for her was spaghetti. But it was a mistake, because you had to suck it, so the sauce flapped everywhere.
“It was erotic, but also messy.”