Luxurious lifestyle of cladding firm couple
Boss and his secretary wife live in £1m mansion
THE boss of a firm that supplied allegedly deadly cladding for Grenfell Tower has made a fortune from installing the panels.
Ray Bailey and his company secretary wife Belinda live in a grand house worth around £1million in Crowborough, East Sussex, where a Porsche and a Land Rover were parked in the drive yesterday.
Mother-of-three Mrs Bailey’s Facebook profile shows her sitting next to a tiger on an exotic holiday and enjoying luxurious ski trips.
Yesterday the couple were reluctant to answer questions about the tragedy.
Grenfell Tower was covered with metal over- cladding installed by Mr Bailey’s company, Harley Facades Ltd, in a contract valued at £2.6million, according to the firm’s website.
The cladding at the tower block sparked ‘like a match’, it has been claimed.
Harley Facades is reported to have used a similar aluminium composite to clad several high-rise blocks and public buildings across the country, raising fears for the safety of thousands of other residents. Mrs Bailey, 56, yesterday denied any knowledge about the work at Grenfell Tower, insisting from behind the electric gates of her home, that there ‘was nothing to say’.
Her husband, who entered the curtain-walling business straight from university, has boasted of 25 years of ‘practical experience’ on Harley Facades’ website.
Mr and Mrs Bailey were director and secretary of Harley Curtain Wall, which went bust in 2015, owing creditors £1million, according to reports.
A customer demanded £428,000 for disputed work and the company owed £1.18million in total. But it was later bought for £24,900 by Harley Facades Ltd, Mr Bailey’s other firm, which according to its latest accounts has £151,000 in the bank and made £299,000 profit last year.
The company, which installed but did not manufacture the panels at Grenfell Tower, said in a statement they were a ‘commonly used product in the refurbishment industry’.
Mr Bailey, 58, said on Wednesday night: ‘This is an incredibly tragic incident. Our thoughts are with the residents and their families who have suffered such a personal loss. We will fully support and cooperate with the investigations into this fire.
‘At this time, we are not aware of any link between the fire and the exterior cladding to the tower.’ He was unavailable for further comment yesterday, apparently holed up at his country retreat.
His mansion has three buildings with a large, covered swimming pool attached to the main house. The village of Crowborough is also home to a string of celebrities.
Mr Bailey enjoys skiing and motorsports. He has three sons, twins aged 27 and a 23-year-old.
Away from work, Mrs Bailey appears to own a number of cats and belongs to a breeder’s group on Facebook. Photographs from her profile show her enjoying holidays by the sea and in the Alps. Grenfell Tower was clad last year as part of an £8.6million refurbishment by builders Rydon, whose boss has insisted its work ‘met all required building controls’.
Chief executive Robert Bond said the work was signed off by the council’s building control officials.
Mr Bond, who has four daughters in their 20s, lives in a £2million mansion on a private estate in Orpington, Kent.
He is believed to own an Aston Martin with a ‘Bond’ number plate. A silver convertible Porsche was parked outside his home yesterday.
His wife Tina answered the door of the property when asked for comment and if her husband was home. She said, ‘Thank you and goodbye’, before closing the door.
The married couple appear to share a love for classic sports cars and have posed together in front of a silver Ferrari.
Mrs Bond’s Facebook account shows the family enjoy a luxury lifestyle, including holidaying on a yacht. One photograph showed her and her daughters posing in bikinis in crystal- clear waters on an exotic holiday to a destination apparently in south-east Asia.
The £8.6million refurbishment by Rydon and the cladding by Harley Facades will be key issues at the public inquiry into the blaze. Westminster City Council said Harley Facades also supplied cladding for its Little Venice Estate.
But a spokesman said: ‘There is no reason to believe the type of cladding is the same as that used at Grenfell Tower.
‘ Having today reviewed all records we are reassured that the cladding fully complies with all fire and safety requirements and underwent stringent checks before being certified by Building Control. However, as a precaution, we have instructed independent specialists to carry out urgent checks.’
‘Nothing to say’