Scottish businessman Doug Barrowman, the husband of “Baroness Bra” Lady Michelle Mone (the founder of lingerie label Ultimo), will take delivery of a $63.6 million (around £50 million) mega-yacht, The Daily Mail reported late Saturday (Jan 13) citing sources on the French Riviera. Barrowman is currently at the centre of a PPE procurement scandal with Mone. In Oct last year, he sold a 187-foot yacht called Turquoise for reportedly $22.28 million.
The report said that a smaller yacht called Lady M, was now up for sale at $8.6 million.
Earlier in an interview, Mone said that she and her husband hoped to retire and sail the world in 2025. A source in Monaco told Daily Mail that Barrowman had long planned to buy and design his dream vessel. The sources said that the yacht, called Vento, was being fitted out in Turkey.
A look at the mega yacht
Vento, which is 285-foot, features a swimming pool, a helipad that doubles as a basketball court, an outdoor cinema, and a bar among other facilities. The yacht is being fitted by H2 Designs, a London-based company that has previously worked with the Scottish businessman.
Also watch: Gravitas | Michelle Mone: The baroness who made millions during the pandemic
Speaking to the publication, yacht broker Glynn Smith did not deny that Vento’s owner was Barrowman but said he was bound by strict confidentiality, adding the client wished to remain anonymous.
The scandal
Barrowman’s purchase of Vento comes at a time when he and his wife are being investigated by the United Kingdom’s (UK) National Crime Agency (NCA). The NCA is probing PPE Medpro – a consortium that Barrowman led. According to Daily Mail, PPE Medpro was awarded over $254 million by the British government to supply medical equipment.
The company is now being sued by the government for $155 million for a breach of contract and unjust enrichment over claims that its surgical gowns were unfit for use.
Mone had lobbied British Minister Michael Gove and Lord Agnew for the PPE contracts but initially denied she had connections to the firm. She has now admitted that it was a lie, the report said.
It added that Barrowman made more than $76 million profit on the deal, much of which was transferred to an offshore trust of which Mone and her children were the beneficiaries.
In a statement published on Mone’s profile on X on Jan 1, Barrowman said, “Michelle and I are being hung out to dry to distract attention from Government incompetence in how it handled PPE procurement.”
“I understand why the British public feel angry but their anger should not be directed at Michelle or I,” he added.
(With inputs from agencies)
