"Sir" Fred Goodwin, the disgraced banker blamed for the near-collapse of the Royal Bank of Scotland, has bought a secluded home that has been described as one of Edinburgh’s finest houses. The £3.5m property was originally built by Graeme Souness, the former Rangers manager, and has been redesigned and extended since [well yes, you'd think so.]
Unlike his previous home, the banker’s new property is hidden from public view and has a private drive, an electric security gate, extensive grounds, a Japanese garden and a floodlit tennis court [because it's a bugger when you can't finish the set due to poor light]. The move follows an attack by vandals in March last year when three windows were smashed in his detached sandstone villa and a Mercedes S600 in the driveway was damaged. A vigilante group claimed responsibility at the time and warned “rich bankers” that it was “just the beginning”.
According to the selling agents, the centrepiece of Sir Fred’s new home is the “superb bespoke Clive Christian kitchen, offering a fabulous living space with glazed doors to the garden”. A description of the property adds: “The ground-floor reception rooms flow seamlessly into one another and create a wonderfully proportioned and flexible space for entertaining” [marvellous].
RBS had to be bailed out by the Government and is now 84pc owned by the taxpayer. But Sir Fred - nicknamed “Fred the Shred” because of his management style - left with a pension of £700,000 a year and a lump sum of nearly £3m in a deal described by Gordon Brown at the time as “unjustifiable”. Following a widespread public outcry, he later agreed to reduce his payout by £200,000 a year.
Thousands of RBS staff across Britain have lost their jobs since Sir Fred’s departure as chief executive.
