The house Picasso was sold to a businessman for the sum of more than EUR 20 million. The last artist’s house is located in Mougins, in Alpes-Maritimes.
The Picasso farmhouse , the last home of the painter in Mougins (Alpes-Maritimes ), was awarded Thursday to just over 20 million at a New Zealand businessman of Sri Lankan origin in a auction held at the high court of Grasse.
First, in June, the reserve price was set at 18.36 million euros, before Rayo Withanage, the New Zealand national investor, will make a 10% higher bid within 10 days, with and the reserve price to 20.196 million.
The buyer has yet to find the money
On Thursday morning, no other bidder will be presented in court, so it is this businessman, head of real estate investment firm BMB, founded in 2004 with a prince of the oil-rich state of Brunei, who successful bidder was good.
The continuing saga of this singular sales is, however, may not be completed because the buyer now has two months to find the necessary funds for its purchase. “Rayo Withanage owns as of this day but it must still pay the price in two months,” says Mr. Van Rolleghem, the lawyer of the Dutch bank Achmea Bank, creditor of the former owner, a particular Dutch failed.
“For a year, we were in discussion with him, he tries to arrange to acquire it but was unable to raise the money, hope it will get there in the final straight.”
The defaulting former owner, who had purchased the property for 12 million euros from a Picasso heiress, Catherine Hutin-Blay, in 2007, was hired for 10 million jobs. “I am disappointed, there were visits, people who had promised to come to buy, but nobody came, so it is a good that is worth at least 30 million euros,” Mr. Van has deplored Rolleghem.
What about the future of the property
The house of Our Lady of Life, inhabited by the widow of Picasso, Jacqueline Roque, until her suicide in 1986, has stunning views of the Esterel and the bay of Cannes.
It consists of various houses, for a total of 1.700 m2, on a plot of more than 3 hectares with pool house, pool, tennis, house keepers and various annexes.
In the entourage of the new owner, it indicates not know what the new owner will do it well, then a real estate project was discussed on the basis of construction, before the sale, a new slab of 600 m2. “A slab has been laid, but that does not prejudge what will be done, it can be used for anything,” Did we assured source.
