Charles Dickens's Regent's Park mansion at centre of bitter £10 million court battle
A £19 million Regent's Park mansion that was once home to Charles Dickens is at the centre of a bitter court battle between a multimillionaire divorcee and her bank.
Deborah 'Debbie' Fiorentino, the ex-wife of the Italian aristocrat Giovanni Fiorentino and divorce lawyer Raymond 'Jaws' Tooth, could lose her Westminster home after being accused of not paying her mortgages.
After taking out nearly £18 million against the Grade I-listed property, a separate mews house and a third property in Hampstead, the former property magnate is alleged to have incurred significant arrears.
She is now being sued by Luxembourg private bank Banque Havilland over claims that she owes more than £10 million.
The seven-bed residence in Hanover Terrace is where Dickens spent the summer of 1861 and wrote his epic novel Great Expectations.
Designed by Regency architect John Nash, whose neoclassical work includes Buckingham Palace Marble Arch, the mansion has been recently renovated to feature its own sauna and gym.
But despite being 'supposedly a high net worth individual', Banque Havilland claims that Ms Fiorentino has been unable to cover the debts of the place.
Representing Banque Havilland at Mayor's and City County Court this week, Michael Walsh KC said Ms Fiorentino had shown herself unable to repay her loan.
He said: 'The irresistible conclusion here is that she is persistently unable to meet her obligations. The reality is that she has had ample time to repay the amounts owed by her and cannot do so.'
However, Ms Fiorentino's lawyers claim that their client has been treated 'unreasonably' by the lender, which she says prevented her from refinancing, costing her millions.
In response, Mr Walsh said the bank had done what it could to help Fiorentino, delaying interest payments and also its court case after she first defaulted.
He also accused Ms Fiorentino of being 'incapable of properly marketing this property', having initially marketed her Frognal house for a 'wildly over-optimistic' £20 million, before selling it for just £11 million.
The proceeds of that were used to pay off some of the £17.9 million loan, leaving her still owing at least £10 million.
'Ms Fiorentino has also made no meaningful progress in either selling Hanover or refinancing the outstanding loan,' the KC continued.
'The history of this matter is littered with promises that she is close to securing finance, but it is obvious that she cannot do so.
Ms Fiorentino's barrister said she should be granted a 'time order', giving her a few extra months to secure finance or sell the Regent's Park home.
Thomas Rothwell told the court the amount owed by Ms Fiorentino should be reduced to around £2.5 million.
Judge Nicholas Parfitt reserved his decision on Banque Havilland's possession claim until a later date.
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