Luxury island living on a U.K. sea fort
$16M retreats crafted from historic defence installations,
The threat of Napoleon III invading England has long since passed. And Mike Clare has no personal need of 32 ensuite bedrooms. So the British entrepreneur is saying cheerio to his historic sea forts that now function as luxury island retreats.
“They’re very special, very special,” he enthused about the 160-year-old circular structures he’s owned for a dozen years. “But it’s time to let someone else have some fun.”
Two of the three multi-level buildings known as the Solent Forts have been converted to boutique hotels and leisure venues while the third remains in original condition. Located off the coast of Portsmouth, they can be purchased together or individually for $7 million, $7.5 million and $1.5 million respectively.
Accessible by boat or helicopter, the forts could serve as an ultra-private, self-sufficient family residence for out-of-thebox homebuyers, according to Clare. But with restaurants and bars as well as hot tubs, saunas and fire pits, they can also host special events, weddings and corporate functions.
“I’ve had lots of parties for friends there. It’s good fun,” he said over the phone from the U.K.
The manmade islands, dating back to the 1860s, were constructed as sea-based defences against a French invasion that never happened. They were sold by the military to investors in the 1980s.
Clare, whose company Clarenco specializes in restoring unusual properties, bought them in a “leap of faith” in 2009 after selling his Dreams bed retail empire for a reported $390 million.
“I just fell in love with them, really. I didn’t have an exact plan. I just knew they’d been there 160 years — solid granite structures — and I quite liked the challenge of doing them up.”
He spent $14 million on updating and refurbishing. Spitbank is the smaller one with nine ensuite bedrooms and 33,000 square feet across three floors. No Man’s Fort is three times the size, with four storeys, 23 guest suites, an English-style pub and helipad for the 20-minute chopper ride to London. Both forts have staff quarters and function rooms.
The untouched third, named Horse Sand, is a “blank canvas” awaiting a new owner’s imagination, Clare said. The properties are being marketed through Christie’s International Real Estate and Strutt & Parker.
From inside, “it looks like you’re on a boat but it’s very solid and quite cosy,” he said. “In rough water, it’s quite exciting with the seas lashing against the walls.”
Each fort sits on a ring of concrete and granite blocks set six metres into the seabed — a “quite amazing” feat by the Victorians, marvels Clare, adding they also built a well to draw fresh water from an underground river.
For his team, it was “quite the challenge” to redo the plumbing, sewage and electrical systems through 15-foot-thick walls.
Listing agent James Mackenzie is captivated by the forts’ “incredible” past that’s been painstakingly preserved.
“There’s no escaping the fact that you’re inside a historic fortress,” he said, citing old gun emplacements, divers’ holes and original brickwork.
“You’re buying a slice of British history which is utterly unique and truly special,” added Mackenzie, head of Strutt & Parker’s country department.
With Spitbank a bit closer to the mainland, it’s “perfect” as a private, peaceful residence where you can “hole up in splendid isolation” during the pandemic, he said. “You have an excellent vantage point to watch the passing ships and activity on the Solent (strait). It’s very cool.”