Cliff knocks £2.5m off vineyard price*
CLIFF Richard has cut £2.5million off the price of the Portuguese bolthole he escaped to during his child sex abuse probe ordeal.
Sir Cliff, 76, plonked the awardwinning vineyard in Albufeira, Algarve, up for sale for £8million last year.
Now he has slashed the price to £5.5million to try to entice a buyer.
A source said: “He loves Portugal but he wants a quick sale.”
Sir Cliff has added: “It is time to slow down the treadmill and hand over the dream to someone who can dedicate more time to this wonderful venture than we can.”
For sale are two properties, Quinta do Miradouro and neighbouring winery Adega do Cantor “the singer’s winery”.
There are a total of seven bedrooms and six bathrooms, plus a tennis court and swimming pool. The 60,000 square metre vineyard has for 15 years produced Sir Cliff’s wine, including his award-winning Vida and Onda Nova.
Sir Cliff headed for the winery after he was first interviewed by police in 2014 following a man’s allegations he was groped when a child at a Christian rally in 1985.
After an agonising two-year wait, Sir Cliff was told last June that he would not face charges and South Yorkshire Police’s case was dropped. He is suing the BBC after claiming they struck a deal with police to broadcast a raid on his mansion in Sunningdale, Berkshire, in 2014.
He said that the swoop had “defiled” the home and he put it up for sale for £3.5million. He sold it last summer for £2.9million.
Sir Cliff is now at his place in Barbados, where it is thought he will spend much of his time. A source said: “He loves the vineyard but feels it’s time to hand over the reins to somebody else.”
After putting it up for sale last year, Sir Cliff said: “Creating and establishing the winery has been a truly exhilarating and rewarding experience. It has been hard work but we are immensely proud of what has been achieved here.”
He is set to sign boxes of his wines at the property in May. The signings and tours of the estate are popular with fans worldwide.