Son of Monsoon founder dies as £130k Porsche crashes into tree
The son of the multimillionaire owner of high street clothing chain Monsoon was killed when his sports car smashed into a tree.
George Simon, 32, was at the wheel of the £130,000 Porsche Turbo 911 when he lost control on a country road.
The property developer was the youngest child of fashion tycoon Peter Simon, 67, who also founded popular accessories chain Accessorize and has a reported fortune of £600million.
Mr Simon, who lived in London, was driving through North Marden, near Chichester, West Sussex, on his way to meet friends for lunch at the time of the accident last Saturday.
Paramedics and an air ambulance team were unable to save him, and he was pronounced dead at the road side. Police are now investigating the incident.
Yesterday a family friend told how Mr Simon’s commercial property business had just started to be successful at the time of his death.
‘he was a quiet, serious, nice guy,’ the friend said. ‘ his business had just started to take off, a property developing business and it was going well. It is devastating.
‘he had worked abroad for a bit. This was his own business and it was beginning to take off.’
earlier a source told The Sun: ‘Peter and the whole family are utterly devastated. George wasn’t a playboy, he hardly ever drank, didn’t take drugs and was an experienced driver.
‘he was a lovely young man. he was quiet, hard working. he was the baby brother of his three sisters.’
Sri Lankan-born Peter Simon opened the first Monsoon store in Knightsbridge, west London, in 1973, with the first Accessorize store opening in 1984.
It came after he had spent several Tragic death: George Simon, 32 years selling his wares at the capital’s Portobello Road market following trips to Ibiza, Afghanistan and India that led him to create ‘bohemian-inspired’ clothing.
Mr Simon and his ex-wife Kate had three daughters and a son together.
They divorced in 2000 after 20 years of the marriage.
The tragic death of George comes five years after his sister Zara, 38, fell 20 feet from a nightclub balcony in Ibiza and was left wearing a neck brace.
In a statement, Sussex Police said: ‘At noon on Saturday September 30 a black Porsche 911 Turbo travelling south on the B2141 at North Marden, near Chichester, left the road and collided with a tree.
‘The Kent, Surrey and Sussex air ambulance was among emergency services in attendance but sadly the driver, a 32-year-old man from London, was declared dead at the scene.
‘Anyone who saw what happened or who may have other relevant information is asked to report details online or by phoning 101, quoting Operation Kimble.’
‘Family are devastated’