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<\/p>\nHis father was a gambling legend who was a close friend of Lord Lucan before the peer\u2019s disappearance in 1974, but Damian Aspinall\u2019s own luck appears to have run out.<\/p>\n
I can disclose that Aspinall has lost his stake in the family casino empire he revived two decades ago.<\/p>\n
The banking group Investec is understood to have taken control of Aspinall\u2019s 35 per cent stake in Aspers after he failed to repay a \u00a36million mortgage.<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s the end of an era,\u2019 one of his friends tells me. \u2018It\u2019s not clear why he didn\u2019t repay the mortgage. His stake in Aspers was worth about \u00a350million at one point.\u2019<\/p>\n
Aspinall, 63, was said to have a fortune of around \u00a3200million.<\/p>\n
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Loss: I can disclose that Aspinall has lost his stake in the family casino empire he revived two decades ago<\/p>\n
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Millionaire: Aspinall, 63, was said to have a fortune of around \u00a3200million<\/p>\n
A spokesman for Aspers, which operates casinos in London\u2019s Westfield Stratford City, Northampton, Milton Keynes and Newcastle, confirms that Aspinall is no longer a board member of Aspers UK Holdings Ltd and its operating companies.<\/p>\n
Gaming club Aspinalls \u2013 nicknamed \u2018Aspers\u2019 \u2013 was set up in Mayfair in the 1960s. Damian, whose ex-girlfriends include supermodels Naomi Campbell and Elle Macpherson, revived the Aspers name in conjunction with Crown Resorts, the Australian gambling group latterly run by billionaire James Packer. He\u2019s the son of Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer, who founded World Series Cricket in the 1970s.<\/p>\n
US private equity giant Blackstone bought the wider Crown Resorts group in a deal worth \u00a34.5billion last year.<\/p>\n
Aspinall is also known for his family\u2019s eponymous foundation, set up to breed gorillas and return them to the wild. He manages Howletts Wild Animal Park and nearby Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Kent. Boris Johnson\u2019s wife, Carrie, was hired by the foundation as head of communications in 2021.<\/p>\n
Last year, I disclosed that Aspinall had separated from his second wife, Victoria Fisher, who is 26 years his junior.<\/p>\n
She admitted in 2017 that she had thought hard before accepting a proposal from Damian, who has two daughters, Tansy and Clary, with his first wife, Louise Sebag-Montefiore. He also has a daughter, Freya, with actress Donna Air.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for Aspers tells me: \u2018Aspers management continues to operate the business as normal, reporting to the board which represents all current shareholders.\u2019<\/p>\n
Aspinall declines to comment. A spokesman for Investec tells me: \u2018I\u2019m sorry, we\u2019re not able to comment on this situation.\u2019<\/p>\n
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Happy: The 37-year-old seemed overjoyed when she was met by her family while leaving studios in Manchester earlier this week<\/p>\n
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Hug:\u00a0Riley found her daughter Maven, aged three (above), and was then led to her husband Pasha Kovalev,<\/p>\n
As A presenter of Countdown, Rachel Riley contends with a tough working schedule away from her loved ones.<\/p>\n
So the 37-year-old seemed overjoyed when she was met by her family while leaving studios in Manchester earlier this week.<\/p>\n
Riley found her daughter Maven, aged three (above), and was then led to her husband Pasha Kovalev, who was hiding from the Channel 4 host. \u2018It was a delightful surprise,\u2019 a friend tells me.<\/p>\n
Former Strictly star Kovalev, 43, and Riley also have a one-year-old daughter, Noa. The presenter has recently spoken of the couple\u2019s difficulties in spending time together because of their hectic working hours.<\/p>\n
This might not go down well with Prince Andrew, who used to spend weeks at Balmoral when his mother was still alive. But I hear King Charles is to extend its opening times to the public, thereby limiting his relations\u2019 opportunities to stay at the castle.<\/p>\n
The royal Aberdeenshire retreat used to be open to the public from April to July. Now the King will also open its doors this autumn and winter.<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s part of His Majesty\u2019s plan to turn the castle into more of a museum,\u2019 a source says. \u2018Details will be announced next week.\u2019<\/p>\n
Charles, who goes to Balmoral next week, has already extended its summer opening by a fortnight.<\/p>\n
Dame Emma Thompson was bemused when she was recently asked to be a patron of a particular London charity.<\/p>\n
The Oscar winner, 64, became involved with Prospex, which aims to help young people \u2018at risk of gang violence\u2019 in North London, while filming an episode about food inequality for BBC programme The One Show in 2019 and has worked with them since. \u2018We\u2019ve never officially asked her to be a patron,\u2019 Prospex boss Richard Frankland says. \u2018So I thought I\u2019d just make it official and ask her.\u2019 Dame Emma\u2019s reported response: \u2018I thought I already was.\u2019<\/p>\n
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Family: Marcella star Anna Friel has treated her daughter to a luxurious holiday before she leaves home<\/p>\n
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Peaceful: Gracie\u2019s father is Friel\u2019s ex-boyfriend David Thewlis, 60, a Harry Potter star<\/p>\n
Marcella star Anna Friel has treated her daughter to a luxurious holiday before she leaves home.<\/p>\n
The 47-year-old has taken Gracie, 18, to a five-star resort in the Maldives.<\/p>\n
\u2018Mama daughter holiday of a lifetime,\u2019 Friel says. \u2018Savouring every last moment with my boo before she flies the nest.\u2019<\/p>\n
Gracie\u2019s father is Friel\u2019s ex-boyfriend David Thewlis, 60, a Harry Potter star.<\/p>\n
Bianca Jagger once aspired to be a film star, but her dreams were shattered when she was asked to perform nude scenes.<\/p>\n
\u2018There was some movie baron who wanted to make a dirty film,\u2019 explains Ray Connolly, writer of the abandoned 1975 film Trick or Treat, in his autobiography Born At The Right Time.<\/p>\n
Then married to Rolling Stone Mick, Bianca \u2018finally walked out with the result the film was never made\u2019, Connolly writes.<\/p>\n
\u2018She never made another movie. Wise decision.\u2019<\/p>\n