Now Cliff puts his £6million Barbados home on the market
Sir Cliff Richard has put his £6million Barbados estate up for sale – the third property he has decided to get rid of in the wake of false sex abuse allegations.
The 77-year-old singer has sold his £2.9million flat in Sunningdale, Berkshire, where a police raid during the bungled investigation was screened live by the BBC.
He is also selling his £6.4million farmhouse and vineyard on the Algarve in Portugal, where he produced his own wines.
As with the Barbados residence, Coral Sundown, the sale appears to be part of a plan by Sir Cliff to downsize.
Coral Sundown is where he allowed thenprime minister Tony Blair and his family to holiday for three summers from 2003. The six-bedroom property has a swimming pool and tennis courts plus three acres of land.
it was partly constructed using white coral on a plot Sir Cliff chose in 2000 because it is inland. He once explained: ‘i spend my whole life with the public, so i wanted my home to be unobtainable. At least in my home i’m away from prying eyes. i can relax here with this fantastic view.’ Coral Sundown is on the market with estate agent Knight Frank and is described as a ‘beautiful Caribbean home with amazing sea views... in the upscale Sugar Hill Resort’.
it says that the price will be supplied on application but previous estimates have suggested the estate is worth around £6million. Photographs of the interior show thousands of square feet of marble flooring. Key themes for the decoration scheme appear to be ancient Egypt and art deco. There are black and gold sculptures and busts, large paintings – including one of a pharaoh – chandeliers, candelabra and multi-coloured stained glass Tiffany lampshades. Fans hang from the ceilings and there are bright rugs and gathered drapes.
One bedroom has a polished hardwood floor and a vast bed, two leather chairs and a sculpture of a cat. A second bedroom features an enormous four-poster, while another has twin beds and botanical prints.
There are loungers by the side of the pool, which has a green sculpture of leaping fish. The main kitchen is surprisingly modest and dated but any new owner is likely to leave most of the cooking to their staff.
Sir Cliff won ‘substantial damages’ from South Yorkshire Police over the raid on his Berkshire flat by officers investigating allegations of historical sexual abuse. He was never arrested, let alone charged and the case was eventually dropped last year. He is still suing the BBC over the matter.
Last night a source close to Sir Cliff said: ‘He is downsizing in Barbados and will retain a home there once he has sold. The current place is too big for his needs.’