The nine-bedroom château in southeastern France dates back to the 18th century. Courtesy Emile Garcin Properties
The nine-bedroom château in southeastern France dates back to the 18th century. Courtesy Emile Garcin Properties

French fixer-upper with plenty of rooms to repair to



An 18th century nine-bedroom château in southeastern France has gone on sale for €7.5 million (Dh37.4m).

Set in the rolling plains of South Luberon, once associated with the playwright Samuel Beckett and later those looking for holiday home ideals, the luxury property is spread over 85 hectares.

The 1,000 square metre château is in need of renovation and comes with outbuildings comprising another 2,000 square metres.

The disrepair is visible in the second floor chapel, that features 5.7 metre ceilings, where paint is peeling off the walls.

But the two-storey Provencal manor house has plenty of features to entice a potential buyer.

The ground floor includes a dining room, two reception rooms with fireplaces, a vaulted kitchen with a pantry, a staircase and a vaulted stone cellar.

A terrace on the ground floor leads to the edge of the property’s private lake and opens up to views over the water to the Luberon Mountains beyond. The rooms on this floor feature high ceilings and ornamental plasterwork.

The second floor comes with nine bedrooms – some with a view of the lake – dressing rooms, a study and two additional living rooms, one with a large fireplace.

The house also includes an attic that has been separated into six rooms. New owners could consider converting these into utility rooms or more bedrooms.

The estate’s outbuildings include a caretaker’s quarters with a kitchen, dining room, sitting room, study, larder and four bedrooms that could also offer options for new owners.

An older château is not complete without a tower or two, and this property does not disappoint — its turret houses a separate apartment. There are also farming sheds, a hayloft, garages, a farmhouse, a sheep barn and a stable to enjoy.

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MATCH INFO

England 241-3 (20 ovs)

Malan 130 no, Morgan 91

New Zealand 165 all out (16.5ovs)

Southee 39, Parkinson 4-47

England win by 76 runs

Series level at 2-2

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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