Tory donor Lord Lupton has reportedly sold the spectacular Mediterranean estate used to film hit BBC spy thriller The Night Manager for £55 million.
The aristocratic Brit’s sunshine hideaway La Fortaleza in Majorca was where Gareth Bale and Rafa Nadal tied the knot with their respective partners, is now said to be owned by Norwegian billionaire Ivar Tollefsen.
The sale went through in March but has only just come to light according to respected island newspaper Diario de Mallorca.
Lord Lupton, born James Roger Crompton Lupton and made a life peer in 2015, is thought to have paid around £30 million for the property overlooking the Bay of Pollensa in north-east Majorca in 2011.
The original asking price before he bought it is believed to have been around £75 million mark and it was described at the time as Spain’s most expensive property.
As well as playing host to former Real Madrid and Tottenham player Bale’s wedding to childhood sweetheart Emma Rhys-Jones in June 2019 and tennis star Rafa Nadal’s wedding to Mary Perello three months later, Netflix series Turn Up Charlie starring Idris Elba was also filmed there.
The location was used as the location for TV series The Night Manager - which starred Tom Hiddleston in the lead role - was adapted from the John le Carre spy novel.
Tom, Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman all won Golden Globes for their roles in the drama, while the show itself was nominated for best mini series or TV film at the awards.
And its success has led to the BBC announcing plans to make a TV adaptation of another one of the author’s books, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold
A week-long stay at the property - offered as an auction prize at a Tory Black and White Ball fundraiser - went for £220,000 four years after Lord Lupton purchased it.
In its day it was a fortress to defend Majorca against invaders.
The original fort was built in 1628. By the time Lord Lupton’s family bought it the estate had been expanded to include a helipad, two swimming pools and seven villas with 17 en-suite bedrooms.
In The Night Manager it was the lair of “the worst man in the world” - billionaire arms dealer Richard Roper who was played by Hugh Laurie.
Self-made real estate mogul Ivar Tollefsen’s net worth was recently put by Forbes at 5.4 billion US dollars, making him the second wealthiest man in Norway.
The 61-year-old has also been described as the world’s most adventurous billionaire after setting the world record for the fastest crossing of Greenland on skis in 1991 and again in 2016 after his previous time was beaten.
He has also competed in the Dakar rally.
Tollefsen started his first company renting out DJ services and event equipment aged just 14. He began building his real estate empire with the earnings from his disco business and now owns 100,000 apartments across Europe
In 2017 he bought a building in the Norwegian capital Oslo that used to house the US embassy.
Lord Lupton was asked by local press in March about rumours La Fortaleza had been put up for sale but reportedly replied at the time by simply saying: “Thank you in advance for your courteousness.”
