David Pearl (businessman)
Encyclopedia
David Pearl is a millionaire
property developer with most business interests in London. Originally from a poor background in North London
, Pearl’s wealth was estimated at £233m in 2009, in position 241 on The Sunday Times Rich List
.
In 2007, Pearl featured on Channel Four’s Secret Millionaire
, a TV show featuring millionaire business leaders going incognito as residents and volunteers in deprived communities, after which they donate cash gifts to worthy parties. He had also appeared previously in the national press for instigating legal actions against London councils.
in October 1945. In the late 1940s his family moved to London’s Stamford Hill
, where his father Harry worked in a millinery
factory. Pearl’s family struggled financially; in later life Pearl has referred to this through vignettes, such as his mother keeping gifts to re-gift on other occasions. Pearl left school at the age of 15, with no qualifications, to work as a packer for a clothing company and a part-time casino croupier
.
In 1965, at the age 19, he set up Pearl and Coutts, a property management
and letting agency. with a partner, beginning by managing other owners' properties. Within three years, Pearl had gone solo and began to buy property to let. The first property had an interest-free mortgage
at £7 a week, and was let for £10. For the third property, banks were unwilling to help and his mother provided collateral
using her own home. In the early years, Pearl and Coutts operations were characterised by Pearl personally bidding for properties at auction
s.
Pearl continued personally acquiring and letting properties for ten years from offices in Clarence Road, in London’s East End borough of Hackney
. Initial properties were residential properties in London’s Hackney and Islington
, followed by diversification into commercial property
in London’s central zones and the West End.
In 1978 Pearl & Coutts engaged its first permanent employee, Pat Colvin, who had previously worked for NatWest.
Structadene Ltd
In late 1978, Pearl set up a limited company, Structadene Limited, encompassing Pearl & Coutts.
Structadene traded throughout the recession at the beginning of the 1980s making some sporadic purchases. During the recession
the acquisitions strategy included purchasing properties in areas of London not considered of focal interest for property investment. In 1980, Structadene acquired the Jesus Bethnal Hospital Estate in east London’s Bethnal Green
, with 350 houses purchased for £1.2m. Similar acquisitions included various properties on the North side of London’s famous central shopping street, Oxford Street
, as well as many on the South side. Local property values increased over time and the area became known as Noho in property circles, encompassing the desirable areas of Fitzrovia
and many listed buildings. Notable purchases included many buildings along Great Portland Street
and Great Titchfield Street
.
Much of the groups approach has since consisted of joint venture companies. In 2010, there were a reported 200 joint venture style “entities” comprising the Structadene Group. Gross assets under management have been reported at £2bn “at its peak”, although it is not clear which date this relates to.
In 2006, Structadene was ranked no. 65 in The Sunday Times ‘Profit Track’ list of top 100 companies, with an estimated increase in profits during the period from 2001 to 2004 of 63%. The increase was reported as due to diversifying risk across commercial sectors and spending on IT systems to improve management operations.
By late 2007, Structadene’s annual report listed 68% portfolio value located in London, with a further 12% in the South East of England. The company had continued to buy properties in London’s City
areas (EC1, EC2, EC4), Camden
and Westminster
. Whilst some of the portfolio included buildings for leisure and residential property, the majority was office spaces (40%) and retail units (24%). Properties outside London were geographically diverse across the UK (South West, Midlands, East Anglia
, & the North in England; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).
Structadene’s annual report to September 2008 listed financing with 20 banks/building societies. The Group and share of joint venture turnover was reported at £102,519,735 with Net Assets at £152,020,063 and Reserves of £102,329,048.
Restructuring
In February 2010, Pearl was interviewed by Property Week
magazine, due to selling some of the group’s properties, a move which went against a longstanding reputation of retaining rather than reselling. Pearl is noted for retaining some of the original properties purchased in the later 1960s. Between October 2009 and February 2010, Structadene sold a reported £50m worth of its portfolio at auction, with a further sale planned that month for 15 more properties. The sales were depicted as part of a strategy to reduce the size of Structadene Ltd by as much as one quarter to one third gradually over five years. The exact level of gearing was not disclosed, with debts estimated at £800m. Auctions were apparently chosen for the method of selling to maximise the sales value. Pearl had not purchased property for over 2 years by January 2010.
An interview in The Lawyer
in 2003 painted Pearl as an “old school” businessman favouring a "gentleman’s agreement" over routine legal outsourcing
. ‘"I have 27 joint venture partners and I don't have [legal] joint venture agreements with any of them," he says. "We buy properties together. We shake hands, do a deal and that's the way it is”’.
Property industry auctioneer Duncan Moir has stated Pearl operates by buying property he genuinely likes, “as though he were a collector, rather than an investor”.
Most press
coverage of Pearl appears within the property industry media. Notably, Pearl’s choice of business attire has been described as “perennially dressed down”, favouring trainers, rugby-style shirts and baggy trousers. A 2006 magazine make-over feature made capital of this, claiming he was “famously scruffy”, spent around £91 a year on clothing and needed the featured sprucing up to attend a charity event at Buckingham Palace
.
ranked David Pearl at no. 241, up from 308 the previous year. The entry listed the source of ‘wealth’ as ‘Property’, estimated at £233m, down by £36m on the previous year.
by 2 hours, losing their right to buy due to the need to raise extra finance. Structadene responded with characteristic caution, with a quote from Daniel Parnes, a Structadene director for the local press that “for properties where tenants are paying below market rents, we will discuss that with each tenant - we plan to keep the unique nature of the borough”.
In November 2000, Structadene controversially sued inner London local authority Hackney Council under the Local Government Act 1972
(123 128). A high court judge found the council had acted illegally in the sale of 12 commercial industrial units to existing tenants at £40,000. Pearl’s involvement centred on legal arguments that the council’s sale followed refusal to accept an offer of £100,000 from Structadene and thereby contravened the authority’s duty to sell to the highest bidder. Mr Justice Elias found in favour and declared the sale void. Pearl was quoted in the national press as “furious” at the council’s failure to accept the higher bid, against a reported background of £40m debt on the part of the local council.
, aired on 12 December 2007. The series featured millionaire-level business people going incognito as volunteers in community organisations within deprived areas, living on very limited budget
s. The subterfuge involved pretending to be making a ‘regular’ documentary within the chosen organisation. At the end of filming, typically one week or so, the millionaire involved gave away tens of thousands of pounds to individuals or organisations they had encountered in their role. The series places an emphasis on both the emotionally compelling stories of the recipients and the psychological impact on the millionaire.
Pearl successfully posed as a newly-retired volunteer at Portsmouth
’s Queen Alexandra Hospital
, which was served by approximately 700 such volunteers. The episode culminated in personal donations totalling £50,000. One recipient was a ‘fellow volunteer’, to pay for her honeymoon. Others included stroke rehabilitation
and cancer care organisations. The subterfuge was probably successful in part due to Pearl’s typical dress style, in avoiding arousing suspicions of his actual means.
Pearl later told property industry media in 2007 “I’m glad I did it… I’m not new to charity, but being hands-on is different and it has changed my outlook”.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Pearl and Coutts financially supported The Duke of Edinburgh's Award
, becoming a Charter Founder member. The Award scheme allows young people aged 18–25 personal development
opportunities through volunteering, physical fitness
activities, practical & social skills
and expeditions.
National Youth Theatre
Pearl has supported the National Youth Theatre
charity on both a corporate level through Pearl and Coutts and an individual basis as a Friend of the charity. In 2010, Pearl and Coutts were listed as providing donations ranging between £10,000 and £49,000.
Crisis At Christmas
Crisis at Christmas charity provides temporary services and accommodation to homeless people in London during the Christmas period. In 2007, Pearl and Coutts donated the use of a building in Duncan Terrace, Islington, London. The 16000 square feet (1,486.4 m²) former county court
house was used rent free for their operations over the festive season, whilst otherwise vacant pending planning permission
s.
In 2009, The Club announced plans to build a new stadium to accommodate a crowd of 56,250 within a complex of other facilities next to the current White Hart Lane
36,000 seat stadium. Plans included a public square with two amphitheatre
s and a cafe, a 150 bed hotel, a large supermarket, new Club offices, a Club museum and over 400 new homes. Tottenham Hotspur announced the new ground would open for the 2012-2013 football season. Press releases from management emphasise the Club’s aim to “play a role in the regeneration of the wider area”.
Millionaire
A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. It can also be a person who owns one million units of currency in a bank account or savings account...
property developer with most business interests in London. Originally from a poor background in North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
, Pearl’s wealth was estimated at £233m in 2009, in position 241 on The Sunday Times Rich List
Sunday Times Rich List
The Sunday Times Rich List is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families in the United Kingdom, updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday newspaper The Sunday Times since 1989...
.
In 2007, Pearl featured on Channel Four’s Secret Millionaire
Secret Millionaire
The Secret Millionaire is a reality television show which originated in the UK, in which millionaires go incognito into impoverished communities and agree to give away tens of thousands of pounds . Members of the community are told the cameras are present to film a documentary...
, a TV show featuring millionaire business leaders going incognito as residents and volunteers in deprived communities, after which they donate cash gifts to worthy parties. He had also appeared previously in the national press for instigating legal actions against London councils.
Early life
David Pearl was born in LutonLuton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
in October 1945. In the late 1940s his family moved to London’s Stamford Hill
Stamford Hill
Stamford Hill is a place in the north of the London Borough of Hackney, England, near the border with Haringey. It is home to Europe's largest Hasidic Jewish and Adeni Jewish community.Stamford Hill is NNE of Charing Cross.-History:...
, where his father Harry worked in a millinery
Millinery
Hatmaking is the manufacture of hats and headwear, millinery is the designing and manufacture of ladies’ hats.-Notable hatters:* Gerard Albouy , often known by the name Ouy, a French milliner...
factory. Pearl’s family struggled financially; in later life Pearl has referred to this through vignettes, such as his mother keeping gifts to re-gift on other occasions. Pearl left school at the age of 15, with no qualifications, to work as a packer for a clothing company and a part-time casino croupier
Croupier
A croupier or dealer is someone appointed at a gambling table to assist in the conduct of the game, especially in the distribution of bets and payouts. Croupiers are typically employed by casinos.-Origin of the word:...
.
Ventures
Pearl & CouttsIn 1965, at the age 19, he set up Pearl and Coutts, a property management
Property management
Property management is the operation, control of ususally on behalf of an owner, and oversight of commercial, industrial or residential real estate as used in its most broad terms. Management indicates a need to be cared for, monitored and accountability given for its usable life and condition...
and letting agency. with a partner, beginning by managing other owners' properties. Within three years, Pearl had gone solo and began to buy property to let. The first property had an interest-free mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
at £7 a week, and was let for £10. For the third property, banks were unwilling to help and his mother provided collateral
Collateral (finance)
In lending agreements, collateral is a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan.The collateral serves as protection for a lender against a borrower's default - that is, any borrower failing to pay the principal and interest under the terms of a loan obligation...
using her own home. In the early years, Pearl and Coutts operations were characterised by Pearl personally bidding for properties at auction
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
s.
Pearl continued personally acquiring and letting properties for ten years from offices in Clarence Road, in London’s East End borough of Hackney
London Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
. Initial properties were residential properties in London’s Hackney and Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, followed by diversification into commercial property
Commercial property
The term commercial property refers to buildings or land intended to generate a profit, either from capital gain or rental income.-Definition:...
in London’s central zones and the West End.
In 1978 Pearl & Coutts engaged its first permanent employee, Pat Colvin, who had previously worked for NatWest.
Structadene Ltd
In late 1978, Pearl set up a limited company, Structadene Limited, encompassing Pearl & Coutts.
Structadene traded throughout the recession at the beginning of the 1980s making some sporadic purchases. During the recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
the acquisitions strategy included purchasing properties in areas of London not considered of focal interest for property investment. In 1980, Structadene acquired the Jesus Bethnal Hospital Estate in east London’s Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is a district of the East End of London, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney. Located northeast of Charing Cross, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney,...
, with 350 houses purchased for £1.2m. Similar acquisitions included various properties on the North side of London’s famous central shopping street, Oxford Street
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...
, as well as many on the South side. Local property values increased over time and the area became known as Noho in property circles, encompassing the desirable areas of Fitzrovia
Fitzrovia
Fitzrovia is a neighbourhood in central London, near London's West End lying partly in the London Borough of Camden and partly in the City of Westminster ; and situated between Marylebone and Bloomsbury and north of Soho. It is characterised by its mixed-use of residential, business, retail,...
and many listed buildings. Notable purchases included many buildings along Great Portland Street
Great Portland Street
Great Portland Street is a street in the West End of London. Linking Oxford Street with Albany Street and the busy A501 Marylebone Road and Euston Road, the road forms the boundary between Fitzrovia to the east and Marylebone to the west...
and Great Titchfield Street
Great Titchfield Street
Great Titchfield Street is a street in the West End of London. It runs north from Oxford Street to Greenwell Street, just short of the busy A501 Marylebone Road and Euston Road. It lies within the informally designated London area of Fitzrovia. In administrative terms it is in the City of Westminster...
.
Much of the groups approach has since consisted of joint venture companies. In 2010, there were a reported 200 joint venture style “entities” comprising the Structadene Group. Gross assets under management have been reported at £2bn “at its peak”, although it is not clear which date this relates to.
In 2006, Structadene was ranked no. 65 in The Sunday Times ‘Profit Track’ list of top 100 companies, with an estimated increase in profits during the period from 2001 to 2004 of 63%. The increase was reported as due to diversifying risk across commercial sectors and spending on IT systems to improve management operations.
By late 2007, Structadene’s annual report listed 68% portfolio value located in London, with a further 12% in the South East of England. The company had continued to buy properties in London’s City
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
areas (EC1, EC2, EC4), Camden
London Borough of Camden
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...
and Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
. Whilst some of the portfolio included buildings for leisure and residential property, the majority was office spaces (40%) and retail units (24%). Properties outside London were geographically diverse across the UK (South West, Midlands, East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
, & the North in England; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).
Structadene’s annual report to September 2008 listed financing with 20 banks/building societies. The Group and share of joint venture turnover was reported at £102,519,735 with Net Assets at £152,020,063 and Reserves of £102,329,048.
Restructuring
In February 2010, Pearl was interviewed by Property Week
Property Week
Property Week is a UK business-to-business magazine which reports on the worldwide commercial and residential property market.It is the Business Magazine of the Year 2007....
magazine, due to selling some of the group’s properties, a move which went against a longstanding reputation of retaining rather than reselling. Pearl is noted for retaining some of the original properties purchased in the later 1960s. Between October 2009 and February 2010, Structadene sold a reported £50m worth of its portfolio at auction, with a further sale planned that month for 15 more properties. The sales were depicted as part of a strategy to reduce the size of Structadene Ltd by as much as one quarter to one third gradually over five years. The exact level of gearing was not disclosed, with debts estimated at £800m. Auctions were apparently chosen for the method of selling to maximise the sales value. Pearl had not purchased property for over 2 years by January 2010.
Business style
Pearl’s personal approach to business has been documented in various media as keeping as much as possible in-house and a hands-on approach to acquiring property.An interview in The Lawyer
The Lawyer
The Lawyer is a weekly British magazine for commercial lawyers and corporate directors, first published in 1981. It is owned by Centaur Media plc....
in 2003 painted Pearl as an “old school” businessman favouring a "gentleman’s agreement" over routine legal outsourcing
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...
. ‘"I have 27 joint venture partners and I don't have [legal] joint venture agreements with any of them," he says. "We buy properties together. We shake hands, do a deal and that's the way it is”’.
Property industry auctioneer Duncan Moir has stated Pearl operates by buying property he genuinely likes, “as though he were a collector, rather than an investor”.
Most press
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
coverage of Pearl appears within the property industry media. Notably, Pearl’s choice of business attire has been described as “perennially dressed down”, favouring trainers, rugby-style shirts and baggy trousers. A 2006 magazine make-over feature made capital of this, claiming he was “famously scruffy”, spent around £91 a year on clothing and needed the featured sprucing up to attend a charity event at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
.
Personal wealth
The Sunday Times Rich List 2009Sunday Times Rich List 2009
The Sunday Times Rich List 2009 was published on 26 April 2009.Since 1989 the UK national Sunday newspaper The Sunday Times has published an annual magazine supplement to the newspaper called the Sunday Times Rich List...
ranked David Pearl at no. 241, up from 308 the previous year. The entry listed the source of ‘wealth’ as ‘Property’, estimated at £233m, down by £36m on the previous year.
Controversies: legal action and acquisition from local councils
In 2007, Structadene Ltd placed a bid for a portfolio of 277 properties with a North London local authority, Islington Council. The properties included many commercial units, such as shops and premises for trades-people providing services. Islington’s local press reported that the original value of £45m had been increased by the Structadene bid to £70m, establishing the right to buy 159 of the properties. Many of the traders were worried their businesses may be in jeopardy. Traders were reported to be in fear of rent increases which they felt may put their business at risk, forcing them to either borrow larger sums of money to outbid Structadene to buy or to simply risk losing everything by continuing to rent. There were also complaints that at least 2 traders lost the right to buy as they were unable to meet the deadlinesTime limit
A time limit or deadline is a narrow field of time, or particular point in time, by which an objective or task must be accomplished.In project management, deadlines are most often associated with milestone goals....
by 2 hours, losing their right to buy due to the need to raise extra finance. Structadene responded with characteristic caution, with a quote from Daniel Parnes, a Structadene director for the local press that “for properties where tenants are paying below market rents, we will discuss that with each tenant - we plan to keep the unique nature of the borough”.
In November 2000, Structadene controversially sued inner London local authority Hackney Council under the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
(123 128). A high court judge found the council had acted illegally in the sale of 12 commercial industrial units to existing tenants at £40,000. Pearl’s involvement centred on legal arguments that the council’s sale followed refusal to accept an offer of £100,000 from Structadene and thereby contravened the authority’s duty to sell to the highest bidder. Mr Justice Elias found in favour and declared the sale void. Pearl was quoted in the national press as “furious” at the council’s failure to accept the higher bid, against a reported background of £40m debt on the part of the local council.
Television appearances
Pearl appeared in an instalment of Channel Four’s Secret MillionaireSecret Millionaire
The Secret Millionaire is a reality television show which originated in the UK, in which millionaires go incognito into impoverished communities and agree to give away tens of thousands of pounds . Members of the community are told the cameras are present to film a documentary...
, aired on 12 December 2007. The series featured millionaire-level business people going incognito as volunteers in community organisations within deprived areas, living on very limited budget
Budget
A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
s. The subterfuge involved pretending to be making a ‘regular’ documentary within the chosen organisation. At the end of filming, typically one week or so, the millionaire involved gave away tens of thousands of pounds to individuals or organisations they had encountered in their role. The series places an emphasis on both the emotionally compelling stories of the recipients and the psychological impact on the millionaire.
Pearl successfully posed as a newly-retired volunteer at Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
’s Queen Alexandra Hospital
Queen Alexandra Hospital
The Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham, Portsmouth, is one of several hospitals serving the city of Portsmouth...
, which was served by approximately 700 such volunteers. The episode culminated in personal donations totalling £50,000. One recipient was a ‘fellow volunteer’, to pay for her honeymoon. Others included stroke rehabilitation
Stroke rehabilitation
The primary goals of stroke management are to reduce brain injury and promote maximum patient recovery. Rapid detection and appropriate emergency medical care are essential for optimizing health outcomes. When available, patients are admitted to an acute stroke unit for treatment. These units...
and cancer care organisations. The subterfuge was probably successful in part due to Pearl’s typical dress style, in avoiding arousing suspicions of his actual means.
Pearl later told property industry media in 2007 “I’m glad I did it… I’m not new to charity, but being hands-on is different and it has changed my outlook”.
Charitable activities
The Duke Of Edinburgh’s AwardsDuring the 1980s and 1990s, Pearl and Coutts financially supported The Duke of Edinburgh's Award
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award , is a programme of activities that can be undertaken by anyone aged 14 to 24, regardless of personal ability....
, becoming a Charter Founder member. The Award scheme allows young people aged 18–25 personal development
Personal development
Personal development includes activities that improve awareness and identity, develop talents and potential, build human capital and facilitates employability, enhance quality of life and contribute to the realization of dreams and aspirations...
opportunities through volunteering, physical fitness
Physical fitness
Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...
activities, practical & social skills
Social skills
A social skill is any skill facilitating interaction and communication with others. Social rules and relations are created, communicated, and changed in verbal and nonverbal ways. The process of learning such skills is called socialization...
and expeditions.
National Youth Theatre
Pearl has supported the National Youth Theatre
National Youth Theatre
The National Youth Theatre is a registered charity in London, Great Britain, committed to creative, personal and social development of young people through the medium of creative arts....
charity on both a corporate level through Pearl and Coutts and an individual basis as a Friend of the charity. In 2010, Pearl and Coutts were listed as providing donations ranging between £10,000 and £49,000.
Crisis At Christmas
Crisis at Christmas charity provides temporary services and accommodation to homeless people in London during the Christmas period. In 2007, Pearl and Coutts donated the use of a building in Duncan Terrace, Islington, London. The 16000 square feet (1,486.4 m²) former county court
County Court
A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of county courts held by the High Sheriff of each county.-England and Wales:County Court matters can be lodged...
house was used rent free for their operations over the festive season, whilst otherwise vacant pending planning permission
Planning permission
Planning permission or planning consent is the permission required in the United Kingdom in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or buildings. Within the UK the occupier of any land or building will need title to that land or building , but will also need "planning...
s.
Leisure interests
Pearl is Vice President of premier league football club Tottenham Hotspur. The club was ranked 8th in the premier league 2008-2009.In 2009, The Club announced plans to build a new stadium to accommodate a crowd of 56,250 within a complex of other facilities next to the current White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane is an all-seater football stadium in Tottenham, London, England. Built in 1899, it is the home of Tottenham Hotspur and, after numerous renovations, the stadium has a capacity of 36,230....
36,000 seat stadium. Plans included a public square with two amphitheatre
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
s and a cafe, a 150 bed hotel, a large supermarket, new Club offices, a Club museum and over 400 new homes. Tottenham Hotspur announced the new ground would open for the 2012-2013 football season. Press releases from management emphasise the Club’s aim to “play a role in the regeneration of the wider area”.
External links
- http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-secret-millionaire/4od#2921498
- Times Online Rich List
- http://www.pearl-coutts.co.uk
- http://www.structadene.co.uk