Monsoon boss turns five houses into one
(and drives locals potty)
HIPPY chic tycoon Peter Simon was left red-faced last week when his High Street chains Monsoon and Accessorize were shamed for failing to pay some workers the minimum wage, but that’s nothing compared with the opprobrium he faces at home.
The 67- year- old ethical fashion pioneer has outraged neighbours by embarking on a huge programme of building works at his 19th- century home in West London. He is knocking together five properties in his swanky neighbourhood to create a palace with an underground swimming pool.
The works, which are expected to take more than a year to complete and cost more than £1 million, involve extensions and the digging of two basements beneath the period properties. The plans include a gym for the former frozen fish finger salesman to work out in before he goes for a dip in the pool.
There will be a sauna, Jacuzzi, massage room, wine cellar and billiards room, plus two self-contained flats that could be used by staff.
‘The noise is affecting me terribly because it’s really quite loud and I work from home,’ says one exasperated neighbour, who would give her name only as Kristen.
‘Thank God my windows are doubleglazed or I don’t know what I’d do.’
Another neighbour tells me: ‘It just seems excessive. If you want a house that big, buy a house that big.
‘Don’t go and buy five and then annoy your neighbours by joining them together.
‘What’s so frustrating is there’s nothing I can do about it. I got in touch with the council — I wasn’t the first to complain. I can’t do yoga at home any more. I can’t meditate either. My stress levels have definitely increased.’
Famously private, Simon, who has amassed an estimated fortune of £600 million since founding Monsoon from a stall on London’s Portobello Road in 1973, has been given approval for the works by Kensington & Chelsea council despite the complaints.
A friend of Simon’s says: ‘ He has lived there for more than 20 years and now wants to renovate it and turn it into a family home.’
Simon bought the first two properties for an undisclosed sum in 1997. He paid £1.68 million for the third in 2002 and £2.5 million for the fourth last year.
He bought the fifth for an undisclosed amount in 2012.
Though he might lose a few friends locally, Simon’s building works are likely to prove an astute investment: there are three terrace houses for sale in the street ranging from £5.4 million to £14 million each.