Chapter 19 Conjoined Triplets
After England defeated Argentina 1-0, Barron could even faintly hear the cheers coming from the street outside the window.
After all, this game greatly increased the chances of England qualifying for the World Cup group stage.
At the same time, this game also made Barron's funds exceed 10 million pounds in one fell swoop!
After the game, he met again the administrator of the family trust fund, Julia Moore, in the study of his London apartment.
In fact, before accepting Viscount Bute's invitation to attend the banquet that day, Barron had already had a phone call with Yulia and discussed the land next to King's Cross Station.
Finally, he decided to find out what kind of purchase price Viscount Bute would propose.
"Eight million pounds?"
After Barron told Yulia about Viscount Bute's plan and offer, she thought for a moment and said:
"Although this price is slightly different from the price we evaluated, it is not too different."
"Oh? How did you evaluate it originally?"
"Because Viscount Bute once mentioned to the Duke about jointly renovating and developing the land, we hired relevant agencies to value it. The valuation at the time was 9 million pounds."
Yulia already had doubts about Barron's question. She found a document from her briefcase, handed it to him, and continued:
"It's just that the accident that happened later interrupted the plan this time, and the two parties did not reach a formal agreement."
Barron looked at the document that Yulia brought. It was indeed an assessment report on a gas storage tank plot with an area of about 6 hectares near King's Cross Station.
The report was signed at the end of April this year. At that time, the appraisal agency finally made comprehensive adjustments based on the recent successful sales and listing prices around the land, combined with the fluctuation coefficient of land prices in London in recent years and the attributes of the industrial land. The valuation was set at £9 million.
"So even based on this valuation, Ian still lowered the price..."
Regarding Barron's statement, Yulia nodded:
"That's for sure. Even though there will be differences in valuations from different institutions, the difference is basically not too much. However, considering the well-known financial crisis of our Duke of Devonshire family, then he gave a cash payment method, naturally the price will be lowered accordingly..."
"So even if we raise the price, there won't be much room for it. It can only be three to four hundred thousand pounds more at most."
"Yes, Your Excellency, after all, since last year, affected by the world economic situation, London's land prices have dropped slightly after two years of growth. The future expectations are not too optimistic."
In fact, when Viscount Bute said the price of "8 million pounds" yesterday, Barron knew in his heart that this price must be supported by corresponding reasons and would not be too outrageous compared to the real price.
Because for things like land prices, even if there are differences, they are generally reasonable and will only differ within an approximate range.
But even so, Barron still suspected that Viscount Bute must have other purposes that prompted him to purchase the land held by the Duke of Devonshire family.
Otherwise, by purchasing this land in cash at an amount slightly lower than the market price, is it really a good intention to help you solve the family's financial crisis?
What's more, it's very likely that before that, he also launched a public opinion offensive to target his family's financial crisis...
"Ms. Moore, I want to go to the gas storage tank near King's Cross Station now..."
…
King's Cross Station can be said to be located in the center of London, and the City Hall is right next to it.
When the Rolls-Royce stopped at the side of the station and got out of the car, Barron and Yulia were able to see three huge gas storage tanks standing nearby on the Regent River. Those gas storage tanks and nearby A piece of land belongs to the Duke of Devonshire family!
"The history of these gas storage tanks can be traced back to the 1860s. They can be said to be relics of the Victorian era..."
Standing beside Barron, Yulia briefly introduced him:
"However, these gas storage tanks have long been abandoned because they are too huge. The three gas storage tanks have the same specifications, each of which is nearly fifty meters high... It is time-consuming and laborious to dismantle, so they have been kept until now. Of course, this It’s also related to some special circumstances in this neighborhood…”
In fact, although many people may not have seen King's Cross Station in person, they are certainly not unfamiliar with it, because in the movie "Harry Potter" released last year, it was the starting station for Harry Potter to go to Hogwarts. Platform 9 was filmed at King's Cross Station.
It can be said that since then, many loyal fans of this series of movies have come here to check in, and King's Cross Station has also become a famous landmark in London.
In 1830, a statue of the notoriously absurd King George IV was erected at the intersection of Battle Bridge.
The statue aroused ridicule from the public, who nicknamed its location "King's Cross"...
The statue was removed in 1842, but the area's new name, King's Cross, was retained.
Between 1849 and 1852, the Great Northern Railway (GNR) developed London Terminal.
King's Cross Station opened in 1852, replacing the temporary passenger station to solve the traffic problem on the main line.
By 1860, King's Cross was rapidly developing in an all-round way as it became an important transportation hub.
It was also during that period that gas lighting became popular, and King's Cross became the supply center for piped gas in London. It was during this period that the three huge gas storage tanks nearby began to appear.
It can be seen that these three huge gas storage tanks are not only completely consistent in appearance, but also the internal beam lattice and rivet inlay methods are consistent, and are connected by a common roof ridge. Therefore, they have been used since the Victorian period. With the title of "Siamese triplets".
After the Second World War, the British economy began to deindustrialize, transforming and upgrading from manufacturing to service industries. Road transportation gradually replaced railway transportation. More and more abandoned industrial land appeared across the UK, especially in the capital London!
Including King's Cross Station and the surrounding areas, which are mainly transportation, logistics and industry. The canals and factories around King's Cross Station gradually became decadent after they ceased operations.
By the 1980s and 1990s, the King's Cross neighborhood had firmly ranked among the "top ten poorest constituencies in London" and became one of the areas with the lowest commercial office rents in central London.
It's full of drugs, prostitutes, low-end nightclubs and dance clubs.
To this day, the situation here has not changed much, which is one of the important reasons why the gas storage tank land owned by the Duke of Devonshire family has not been developed.
However, following Yulia's introduction, Barron's eyes slowly swept over the gas tank, the Regent's River, King's Cross Station behind him, and the surrounding buildings. His brows furrowed slightly, and a look of thought appeared on his face. color……
He seems to have found the most critical thread that runs through all these things!
The data during the new book period is related to subsequent recommendations, so follow-up reading is very important. I beg you not to keep it all the time. If you feel that it is okay, read it every day to help increase follow-up reading. Thank you very much.
