The £150k garden shed
Multi-millionaire transports famous WW2 hangar 600 miles, rebuilds it on tiny Scots isle ... then uses it to store his quad bikes and tools!
HE is a high-flyer in the finance world whose shrewd business deals have helped him amass a personal fortune of nearly £600 million.
Yet hedge fund manager Ian Wace’s latest investment in a piece of aviation history seems inspired more by nostalgia than profit.
For the 57-year-old – a friend of Prince Charles and his sons William and Harry – has spent an estimated £150,000 on a 100-yearold aircraft hangar.
He paid to have the 2,900 square foot corrugated iron shed packaged into flat-packed sections, transported 600 miles from England and then reassembled on his private island in the Inner Hebrides.
The hangar is now being used as a very expensive shed to store quad bikes and diggers, as well as other machinery and tools.
Since the 1920s, the hangar had stood at Woodford Aerodrome in Cheshire which, as the main site for the manufacture of Lancaster bombers, made a massive contribution to the defence of Britain
‘He is very interested in military history’
during the Second World War. The hangar bears the logo of the Avro engineering firm, named after its founder Sir Alliott Verdon Roe, one of Britain’s most important aviation pioneers.
After the airfield closed, the Avro Shed was among the items put up for auction.
Mr Wace is said to have paid around £120,000 before transporting it to Tanera Mor, the largest of the Summer Isles, off Wester Ross. The tycoon bought the isle in 2017.
A spokesman for Mr Wace said: ‘He is very interested in military history and the Avro hangar caught his eye. He’s keen on that kind of thing and wanted to save it because of its historical significance.
‘He also knew that we needed a utility shed on Tanera Mor and it was perfect for that.’
Planning documents lodged by Mr Wace with Highland Council state: ‘We feel privileged to be in the position to save this idiosyncratic historic building, and give it a new future on Tanera Mor.’
Mr Wace co-founded Marshall Wace Asset Management and has an estimated fortune of around £590 million.
He and his wife Saffron Aldridge, a 52-year-old former fashion model, are well known in royal circles.
Since they bought 796-acre Tanera Mor nearly three years ago – for £1.7 million – they have restored houses, piers and paths to create an idyllic retreat for wealthy visitors.
The Avro Shed, built of steel girders clad in corrugated iron is 67ft wide, 44ft deep and 18ft tall. It has been reinforced to ensure that the historic building can withstand the strong Highland winds.
It is understood it cost more than £30,000 to transport the hangar and then rebuild and reinforce the structure. Richard and Lizzie Williams, the previous owners of Tanera Mor, moved to the mainland in 2014 but the couple now work for Mr Wace.
Mrs Williams, of Summer Isles Enterprises, said : ‘The hangar was for sale in an auction and Mr Wace bought it to put on the island. It is of historical interest and he is keen on that kind of thing.
‘It is just being finished off at the moment. It is a very useful space and fits in really well.’