AN ENTREPRENEUR who grew up in a council house and left school at home is now selling his beachfront home for £15million.
Robert Kay, 65 left school at 14 with no qualifications before starting a video rental business.
16
16
Robert told the Bournemouth Echo: “I used to go to school in second-hand clothes with someone else’s name on the tags.
“It created a huge desire in me to have money. It wasn’t a particular amount, just enough so that I had the same as the other kids.
After making enough money to invest in the property market, he paid £4m for the large detached house on Sandbanks in Poole, Dorset, in 2013.
No expense was spared in renovating it and turning it into a white-washed mansion that backs directly onto Sandbanks beach.
He said: “I could live anywhere now but I choose to live here.
“Bournemouth has been good to me. I like the people and I like the pace of life.”
The five bed luxury property, which has an outdoor infinity swimming pool, has gone up for sale just days after a 117-year-old bungalow on the Millionaires’ Row sold for £13.5m.
The £15m modern mansion is on the opposite side on the posh peninsula and looks out onto the beach and Poole Bay.
It has a huge entrance hall, kitchen, dining room and lounge that all have sea views.
There is a gymnasium, cinema room, office, wine cellar and boot room on the ground floor.
Most read in The Sun
Upstairs there is a massive master bedroom suite that also has stunning sea views, en suite bathroom and dressing room along with four more bedrooms, three of which are en suite.
Outside there is a large sun terrace, the pool and landscaped gardens that lead onto the beach.
Robert Dunford, of estate agents Tailor Made, said: “We believe this property is Britain’s most expensive beachfront property.
“There are luxurious homes in coastal hotspots like Cornwall, Jersey and Guernsey that are on for more but they are all inland.
“This house has direct beach access, there is no road or path of clifftop in the way.
He added: “The property was very tired looking when our client went in there.
“Externally, it is slightly understated in appearance. It is not a modern contemporary home with straight lines and right angles. It has been sympathetically refurbished.
“Inside, no expense has been spared. The owner stripped it right back and redesigned it all.
“The table in the dining room was designed and made by the same people that make Sunseeker yachts.
“The grounds of the property are stunning and could easily be mistaken for a scene in Miami or LA.
“The upper garden is elevated, giving privacy and maximising views and the lower garden offers direct access onto the award-winning Blue Flag sandy beach.”
Robert said the property market in the Poole Harbour area is booming at the moment, largely due to the Covid pandemic.
He said: “Sandbanks and Poole Harbour has always been a desirable location but since Covid we are seeing more and more people relocating here from London for a better way of life.
“The location brings with it the lifestyle. You have Poole Harbour, award winning sandy beaches and the Jurassic Isle Of Purbeck as your playground.
“That interest is driving up demand for beachfront and waterfront homes of which there is a finite number on the Sandbanks peninsula.”
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
