Ecclestone ex fails to strike gold in the bullion trade

TRADING in gold bullion is usually seen as a licence to print money but, curiously, Formula One billionaire Bernie Ecclestone’s former son-inlaw has managed to make only a tiny profit.

I can disclose that James Stunt, who divorced Bernie’s 29-year- old daughter Petra last year, achieved a turnover of £11.5 million with his business Stunt & Co.

However, newly published accounts at Companies House report that it made a profit of just £23,118.

‘ It’s very intriguing,’ a source tells me.

Stunt’s brother, Lee, was the company’s chief financial officer until his death in 2016 at the age of 37. His untimely death was one of a string of misfortunes suffered by James, whose family home in Chelsea was attacked with a petrol bomb earlier that year.

The terrifying incident was caught on CCTV, as a bottle was lobbed over security gates before landing on the drive and bursting into flames just yards from Petra’s Range Rover. Luckily, Petra and her three young children were not at home when the attackers struck.

The couple were known for their lavish way of life and James’s 35th birthday party at St James’s nightclub Tramp last year was attended by guests including Chloe Green, daughter of retail billionaire Sir Philip.

Petra was granted a divorce last October after lawyers revealed that a settlement had been reached with Stunt.

Their assets included a £100 million Chelsea mansion and a £158 million home in Los Angeles.

No details of the settlement were revealed.

The couple met in 2006 and married in 2011, but last June began their court battle which saw Stunt evicted from the Chelsea property.

During a bad-tempered hearing, details of their marriage were laid bare, including hotly disputed allegations that he was abusive, violent and took overdoses.

A spokesman for Stunt & Co tells me: ‘There is no correlation between turnover and profit. Stunt and Co, by contrast, moved from loss into profit, which was as expected for its second full year of trading.’