Latest news with #DeborahFiorentino
Telegraph
23-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Divorcee evicted from Charles Dickens's £19m mansion
A multimillionaire divorcee has been ordered out of her historic £19m London mansion, which was once home to Charles Dickens. Deborah Fiorentino, a former estate agent who specialised in luxury properties, was sued after she failed to pay the mortgage on her Grade-I listed Regent's Park home. Dickens lived at the Hanover Terrace mansion in 1861 when he wrote Great Expectations, a tale of a blacksmith's apprentice who enters into high society after inheriting an unexpected fortune. Ms Fiorentino, the former wife of both Italian aristocrat Giovanni Fiorentino and celebrity British divorce lawyer Raymond 'Jaws' Tooth, ran up the massive arrears after taking out a £17.85m loan on the seven-bed house, as well as a separate mews house and a third property in Hampstead. The Luxembourg-based private bank Banque Havilland sued Ms Fiorentino to gain possession of the house, claiming she was simply unable to cover the cost of the mortgage which she had stopped paying in December 2022. Judge Nicholas Parfitt, sitting at Mayor's and City County Court, said Ms Fiorentino had made it clear that the house was her 'only asset' and that she was not going to make any more installments. Designed by Buckingham Palace and Marble Arch neo-classical architect John Nash, the mansion was recently renovated to feature its own gym and sauna. Ms Fiorentino married Italian aristocrat Giovanni Fiorentino, father of her two children, in the early 1990s and lived with him between his two family homes in Naples. She purchased a house in Hampstead which belonged to pioneer plastic surgeon Sir Harold Gillies, while her former home in Frognal, also in Hampstead, was where stars including Peter Sellers and Elizabeth Taylor enjoyed garden parties in the 1960s. In 2008, she separated from her second husband, a top divorce lawyer called Raymond 'Jaws' Tooth who worked on the divorces of Roman Abramovich, Jude Law, Michael Barrymore and Colin Montgomerie. Michael Walsh KC, representing Banque Havilland, said in court last week that Ms Fiorentino was 'supposedly a high net worth individual' but had now shown herself unable to pay her debts. She sold her home in Frognal for just over £11m, allowing the proceeds to pay down the loan, but was still left owing over £10.2m, with the debt growing by almost £2,000 per day, said the barrister. Thomas Rothwell, representing Ms Fiorentino, claimed the bank had taken an 'unnecessarily belligerent attitude' against her and that she had been 'treated unreasonably.' He said she had been prevented from refinancing her loan, costing her millions in extra outgoings and interest, meaning the amount she owes should be reduced by at least £2.45m, meaning at the most she only now owes around £7.81m. Judge Parfitt said her case against the bank could not be decided now and that, 'the law is well established that the granted security rights take precedence over the cause of action.' He said: 'The defendant has made clear that her only asset is Hanover and so she has no means of making any payments to the bank other than through a sale of Hanover or refinancing Hanover.' Ms Fiorentino claimed several times to be close to selling the mansion, including once to an unnamed Premier League footballer, but a sale had not got to contract exchange. The judge said of her near sale claims: 'At best it is a sequence of hoped for sales which never come close to being a substantial likelihood. 'At worse it is generating evidence to resist the consequences of her legal position arising from the financial documents and her defaults, including at its most basic and uncontroversial failing to repay at the end of the term.' The judge however granted Ms Fiorentino a three-month stay of execution so that she can make a last ditch effort to sell her historic house before it is repossessed. He ordered that she otherwise must give up possession of the house to the bank by 4pm on August 21.
The Independent
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Estate agent ordered out of her historic £19m London mansion after losing battle with bank
A multimillionaire divorcee has been ordered out of her historic £19m London mansion - which was once home to Charles Dickens - by a judge, after losing a court fight with her bank. High-end estate agent Deborah Fiorentino, 63, was sued after she failed to pay the mortgage on her Grade-I listed Regents Park home, where Dickens lived around the time he wrote 'Great Expectations,' leaving her more than £10m in debt. Ms Fiorentino, the former wife of both Italian aristocrat Giovanni Fiorentino and celebrity British divorce lawyer Raymond "Jaws" Tooth, ran up the massive arrears after taking out a £17.85m loan on the house and other properties. But she stopped paying her mortgage in December 2022 and, despite complaining that she had been badly treated by the bank, has now been ordered out by a judge. Judge Nicholas Parfitt, sitting at Mayor's and City County Court, said Ms Fiorentino had made it clear that the house was her "only asset" and that she was not going to make any more installments. The seven-bed house in Hanover Terrace, overlooking Regent's Park boating lake, is where Dickens spent the summer of 1861, around the time he wrote 'Great Expectations.' Designed by Buckingham Palace and Marble Arch neo-classical architect John Nash, it has been recently renovated to feature its own gym and sauna, and is now home to wealthy divorcee Ms Fiorentino. Ms Fiorentino is a former local estate agent, who after setting up her own office built a portfolio of luxury houses in some of London's richest districts. In the early nineties, she married Italian aristocrat Giovanni Fiorentino, father of her two children, living with him between his two large family homes in Naples, while continuing to buy up more houses. One in Hampstead belonged to pioneer plastic surgeon Sir Harold Gillies, while her former home in Frognal, also in Hampstead, was where stars including Peter Sellers and Elizabeth Taylor enjoyed garden parties in the sixties. In 2008, she separated from her second husband, top divorce lawyer Raymond 'Jaws' Tooth, who worked on the divorces of Roman Abramovich, Jude Law, Michael Barrymore and Colin Montgomerie. But representing Banque Havilland in court last week, Michael Walsh KC said Ms Fiorentino - "supposedly a high net worth individual" - had now shown herself unable to pay her debts. She took out the £17.85m five-year loan with the bank in March 2019, secured against the Hanover Terrace house and mews, and the third property in Frognal. Although Frognal was sold, allowing the proceeds to pay down the loan, she was still left owing over £10.2m, with the debt growing by almost £2,000 per day, said the barrister. But after December 2022, she had gone on to fail to meet interest payments, he said, telling the judge that she "patently cannot afford to repay." "The irresistible conclusion here is that she is persistently unable to meet her obligations," he said. "She has made no interest payment whatsoever since December 2022 on this loan. "The reality is that she has had ample time to repay the amounts owed by her and cannot do so." He asked the judge to make an order that she vacate the house so that it can be sold and the bank get its money back. However, Ms Fiorentino fought the claim, arguing that because she has a separate claim against the bank alleging unfair treatment, the order should not be made. Her barrister, Thomas Rothwell, claimed the bank had taken an "unnecessarily belligerent attitude" against her and that she had been "treated unreasonably." She had been prevented from refinancing her loan, costing her millions in extra outgoings and interest, meaning the amount she owes should be reduced by at least £2.45m, meaning at the most she only now owes around £7.81m. But ruling on the case, Judge Parfitt said her case against the bank could not be decided now and that, "the law is well established that the granted security rights take precedence over the cause of action." He continued: "Under the finance documents, interest payments were payable quarterly. It is common ground that, since December 2022, the defendant has made no such payments. "Indeed, the defendant has chosen to make no payments into the mortgage account since December 2022 and is not proposing to make any in the future. "The defendant has made clear that her only asset is Hanover and so she has no means of making any payments to the bank other than through a sale of Hanover or refinancing Hanover." He said she had put forward evidence about her attempts to sell the house herself, but that showed only a "repeated cycle of accepted informal offers and nothing further." During the hearing last week, the court heard Ms Fiorentino had claimed several times to be close to selling, including once to an unnamed Premier League footballer, but a sale had not got to contract exchange. The bank's barrister Mr Walsh said that suggested she had overpriced it, accusing her of being "incapable of properly marketing this property" and pointing to the fact that she had initially marketed the Frognal house for a "wildly over-optimistic" £19.95m, before selling for just over £11m. In his ruling, the judge said of her near sale claims: "At best it is a sequence of hoped for sales which never come close to being a substantial likelihood. "At worse it is generating evidence to resist the consequences of her legal position arising from the financial documents and her defaults, including at its most basic and uncontroversial failing to repay at the end of the term." The judge however granted Ms Fiorentino a three-month stay of execution so that she can make a last ditch effort to sell her historic house before it is repossessed. He ordered that she otherwise must give up possession of the house to the bank by 4pm on August 21. Her claim against the bank over alleged financial losses will take place at a later date.
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Multimillionaire divorcee ordered out of her £19m mansion where Dickens once lived after losing court fight with bank
A multimillionaire divorcee has been ordered out of her historic £19m mansion - which was once home to Charles Dickens - after losing a court fight with her bank. High-end estate agent Deborah Fiorentino, 63, was sued after she failed to pay the mortgage on her Grade-I listed Regents Park home leaving her more than £10m in debt. Ms Fiorentino, the former wife of both Italian aristocrat Giovanni Fiorentino and celebrity British divorce lawyer Raymond 'Jaws' Tooth, ran up the massive arrears after taking out a £17.85m loan on the house and other properties. But she stopped paying her mortgage in December 2022 and, despite complaining that she had been badly treated by the bank, has now been ordered out by a judge. Judge Nicholas Parfitt, sitting at Mayor's and City County Court, said Ms Fiorentino had made it clear that the house was her 'only asset' and that she was not going to make any more installments. The seven-bed house in Hanover Terrace, overlooking Regent's Park boating lake, is where Dickens spent the summer of 1861, around the time he wrote 'Great Expectations.' Designed by Buckingham Palace and Marble Arch neo-classical architect John Nash, it has been recently renovated to feature its own gym and sauna, and is now home to wealthy divorcee Ms Fiorentino. Ms Fiorentino is a former local estate agent, who after setting up her own office built a portfolio of luxury houses in some of London's richest districts. In the early 90s, she married Italian aristocrat Mr Fiorentino, father of her two children. The children lived with him between his two large family homes in Naples, while Ms Fiorentino continued to buy up more expensive houses. One in Hampstead belonged to pioneer plastic surgeon Sir Harold Gillies, while her former home in Frognal, also in Hampstead, was where stars including Peter Sellers and Elizabeth Taylor enjoyed garden parties in the 60s. In 2008, she separated from her second husband, top divorce lawyer Raymond 'Jaws' Tooth, who worked on the divorces of Roman Abramovich, Jude Law, Michael Barrymore and Colin Montgomerie. But representing Banque Havilland in court last week, Michael Walsh KC said Ms Fiorentino - 'supposedly a high net worth individual' - had now shown herself unable to pay her debts. She took out the £17.85m five-year loan with the bank in March 2019, secured against the Hanover Terrace house and mews, and the third property in Frognal. Although Frognal was sold, allowing the proceeds to pay down the loan, she was still left owing over £10.2m, with the debt growing by almost £2,000 per day, said the barrister. But after December 2022, she had gone on to fail to meet interest payments, he said, telling the judge that she 'patently cannot afford to repay.' 'The irresistible conclusion here is that she is persistently unable to meet her obligations,' Mr Walsh said. 'She has made no interest payment whatsoever since December 2022 on this loan. 'The reality is that she has had ample time to repay the amounts owed by her and cannot do so.' He asked the judge to make an order that she vacate the house so that it can be sold and the bank get its money back. However, Ms Fiorentino fought the claim arguing that because she has a separate claim against the bank alleging unfair treatment, the order should not be made. Her barrister, Thomas Rothwell, claimed the bank had taken an 'unnecessarily belligerent attitude' against her and that she had been 'treated unreasonably.' She had been prevented from refinancing her loan, costing her millions in extra outgoings and interest, meaning the amount she owes should be reduced by at least £2.45m. But ruling on the case, Judge Parfitt said her case against the bank could not be decided now and that 'the law is well established that the granted security rights take precedence over the cause of action.' He continued: 'Under the finance documents, interest payments were payable quarterly. It is common ground that, since December 2022, the defendant has made no such payments. 'Indeed, the defendant has chosen to make no payments into the mortgage account since December 2022 and is not proposing to make any in the future. 'The defendant has made clear that her only asset is Hanover and so she has no means of making any payments to the bank other than through a sale of Hanover or refinancing Hanover.' He said she had put forward evidence about her attempts to sell the house herself but that showed only a 'repeated cycle of accepted informal offers and nothing further.' During the hearing last week, the court heard Ms Fiorentino had claimed the house was close to selling several times, including once to an unnamed Premier League footballer, but a sale had not got to contract exchange. The bank's barrister Mr Walsh suggested she had overpriced it accusing her of being 'incapable of properly marketing this property' and pointing to the fact that she had initially marketed the Frognal house for a 'wildly over-optimistic' £19.95m, before selling for just over £11m. In his ruling, the judge said of her near sale claims: 'At best it is a sequence of hoped for sales which never come close to being a substantial likelihood. 'At worse it is generating evidence to resist the consequences of her legal position arising from the financial documents and her defaults, including at its most basic and uncontroversial failing to repay at the end of the term.' The judge however granted Ms Fiorentino a three-month stay of execution so that she can make a last ditch effort to sell her historic house before it is repossessed. He ordered that she otherwise must give up possession of the house to the bank by 4pm on August 21. Her claim against the bank over alleged financial losses will take place at a later date.
Times
16-05-2025
- Business
- Times
£19m Charles Dickens mansion could be seized over ‘unpaid mortgage'
The £19 million mansion where Charles Dickens wrote Great Expectations is at the centre of a battle between a multimillionaire divorcee and her bank. Deborah Fiorentino, 63, the former wife of the Italian aristocrat Giovanni Fiorentino, could lose the property in Regent's Park, London, after being accused of not paying her mortgage. After taking out a £17.85 million loan against the mansion, a separate mews house and a third property in Hampstead, north London, Fiorentino is said to have incurred significant arrears. She is now being sued by Banque Havilland, a Luxembourg private bank, over claims that she owes more than £10 million. Lawyers for the bank have asked a judge to order that Fiorentino — who was also once married to the celebrity divorce
Telegraph
16-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Charles Dickens's £19m mansion at centre of 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. A former estate agent who specialised in luxury properties is being sued for not paying her mortgage on the Grade 1-listed property. It was at the Hanover Terrace mansion that Dickens lived in 1861, when he was writing Great Expectations, his epic tale of a blacksmith's apprentice who enters high society after receiving an unexpected fortune. But for Deborah Fiorentino the house has brought her less than good luck. After taking out a £17.9 million loan against the mansion, a separate mews house and a third property in Hampstead, Ms Fiorentino proceeded to run up massive arrears, a court heard. The 63-year-old former wife of Italian aristocrat Giovanni Fiorentino and celebrity British divorce lawyer Raymond 'Jaws' Tooth, has now been accused by her lender of owing it more than £10 million. The Luxembourg-based private bank Banque Havilland is suing her to gain possession of the house, claiming that despite being 'supposedly a high net worth individual,' she is simply unable to cover the cost of the mortgage. Ms Fiorentino is fighting the claim on the basis that she has been treated 'unreasonably' by the lender, which she says prevented her from refinancing, costing her millions. The seven-bed house in Hanover Terrace, overlooking Regent's Park boating lake, is where Dickens spent the summer of 1861. Designed by Buckingham Palace and Marble Arch neo-classical architect John Nash, it has been recently renovated to feature its own gym and sauna. Ms Fiorentino, a former estate agent who built up a portfolio of luxury houses in some of London's most expensive districts, took out the five-year loan with the bank in March 2019, secured against the Hanover Terrace house and mews, and the third property in Frognal. But the court heard that from early 2023 she failed to meet her interest payments. Representing Banque Havilland at Mayor's and City County Court this week, Michael Walsh KC said Ms Fiorentino had shown herself unable to pay her debts. 'The irresistible conclusion here is that she is persistently unable to meet her obligations,' he told Judge Nicholas Parfitt. 'She has made no interest payment whatsoever since December 2022 on this loan. 'The reality is that she has had ample time to repay the amounts owed by her and cannot do so.' Mr Walsh said the bank had done what it could to help Ms Fiorentino, delaying interest payments and also its court case after she first defaulted. Attempts to sell the house The court heard that Ms Fiorentino had claimed several times to be close to selling the house, including once to an unnamed Premier League footballer, but a sale had not gone through. Accusing her of being 'incapable of properly marketing this property,' Mr Walsh said she had initially marketed the Frognal house for a 'wildly over-optimistic' £19.95 million, before selling it for just over £11 million. The proceeds of that were used to pay off some of the £17.9 million loan, leaving her still owing over £10.2 million, said the barrister. 'Ms Fiorentino has also made no meaningful progress in either selling Hanover or refinancing the outstanding loan,' he 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. 'This is not through any fault of Banque Havilland. The truth is that Ms Fiorentino cannot sell Hanover because it is overpriced, just as Frognal was overpriced but sold when it was marketed properly.' Ms Fiorentino's barrister, Thomas Rothwell, said the house, which 'has always been occupied as her home,' should not be taken away by the bank. He said she should be granted a 'time order', giving her a few extra months to secure finance or sell the house and pay what she owes and claimed that she had been 'treated unreasonably'. Mr Rothwell said the amount owed by Ms Fiorentino should be reduced by at least £2.45 million. Ms Fiorentino married Giovanni Fiorentino in the early 1990s, going on to have two children with him and living between his two large family homes in Naples. In 2008, she separated from her second husband, Raymond 'Jaws' Tooth, whose celebrity clients have included Roman Abramovich's former wife Irina, Sadie Frost, Cheryl Barrymore and Colin Montgomerie's former wife Eimear. One of the homes Ms Fiorentino went on to buy in Hampstead belonged to pioneer plastic surgeon Sir Harold Gillies, while her former home in nearby Frognal was where stars including Peter Sellers and Elizabeth Taylor enjoyed garden parties in the 1960s. Judge Parfitt reserved his decision on the bank's possession claim until a later date.
