Chapter 72 The Duke’s Selection
In addition to the futures market, Barron also noticed that at the end of May this year, a stock was listed on the Nasdaq stock market. The company's name was Netflix.
In fact, Netflix had planned an IPO in 2001 when it had 120 employees. However, the bursting of the Internet bubble and the occurrence of the 9.11 incident made the plan bankrupt and had to lay off one-third of its employees.
Fortunately, DVD players became a popular Christmas gift that year, so Netflix's insanely growing DVD subscription business saved Netflix.
However, even if Netflix completes its listing now, it is still just a DVD disc rental service provider with less than 1 million subscribers and a market value of only about US$500 million...
Of course, Barron knows that Netflix's future growth will be amazing and it will be a good long-term investment target. But in the short term, at least within a year, Netflix is not too big if it is to make short-term money. Good investment object.
Because Netflix's stock price is currently around $12.50 - still down from its IPO price of $15...
And the current price is not the lowest price this year. Its stock price will fall later. In Barron's impression, its stock price can fall to about $5 in October!
By that time, Barron had much more funds on hand, and it would be a good choice to use part of it to buy Netflix stock as a long-term holding.
…
Two Rolls-Royces, one behind the other, were driving on the road to Chatsworth Manor.
Although her attitude towards Barron in the morning was much less enthusiastic than before and more of a slightly distant politeness, Chris still went to Chatsworth with Barron and the others as she said before. manor.
She is now sitting in the Rolls-Royce at the back with Gabrielle, the eldest daughter of the Kent family.
Of course, it doesn't mean that Bonnie doesn't want to sit in the same car with her cousin, but what she can't accept is leaving Gabriel in the same car with her boyfriend Barron - all threats must be eliminated. Eliminate it in the bud, she can only make such a wise choice.
It takes about three hours to drive from London to Chatsworth Manor. However, the excellent performance of Rolls-Royce can eliminate part of the fatigue of the journey. Coupled with the increasingly beautiful scenery outside the window, it is not too overwhelming. Boring.
After arriving at the manor, a bit of excitement could be seen in the eyes of Chrissy and Miss Ella.
In addition to the fact that this was their first time here and they were still feeling fresh, both of them had also read and liked the novel "Downton Abbey". As for the prototype of the manor where the story in the novel takes place, what they saw in front of them was They are also looking forward to Chatsworth Manor.
In addition to "Downton Abbey", the prototype of Darcy Manor in the world famous "Pride and Prejudice" is also taken from Chatsworth Manor, so Chatsworth Manor also got the nickname Darcy Manor.
I'm afraid that when "Downton Abbey" becomes more and more popular, Chatsworth Abbey will have another nickname "Downton Abbey".
Compared with Bonnie when she first came here, it has to be said that both Chris and Ella, who are accustomed to aristocratic life, are not familiar with the traditional etiquette of the housekeepers and servants in the manor. Be more adaptable.
After settling the two guests in person, Barron left Bonnie to show them around the manor, while he himself went to ask Butler Sean about the manor during this time.
"According to your instructions, Your Majesty the Duke, the institution recognized by the Royal Institute of Architects that we hired has provided a preliminary plan for the overall renovation of the manor. We will carry out this plan separately by region to ensure that there is always At least half of the rooms can retain the function of living..."
Repairing and transforming a historic building like Chatsworth Manor - especially this manor has long been rated as a Grade I listed building - is not an easy task, because first of all, there are everywhere in the manor. Carvings, sculptures and works of art require careful protection, and the materials used also need to meet the most stringent standards.
Moreover, the technical personnel carrying out this project need to have considerable professional qualifications.
Just to re-lay the floor heating and other pipeline lines on the entire manor, it is expected that at least more than 200 tons of soil will be dug out. It can be said that this is definitely a big project!
"I will take a look at the plan, Sean Butler. If possible, after I confirm it, I hope to start construction as soon as possible. I hope that at least one-third of the area can be completed before the end of the year... Well, let's start with Let's get started with 30 rooms ready to be opened to the public."
For Barron, starting this project immediately is the best option to save time.
Fortunately, for a project like this, even if the total budget exceeds 20 million pounds, it does not mean that it needs to be paid in full as soon as the construction starts. Instead, it will be paid in stages, so that there will be no financial burden on him. It caused too much pressure.
It can be said that the reason why Barron is now able to use such "little" funds to carry out overall repairs and transformations of the entire Chatsworth Manor is thanks to his grandmother.
Because when Barron's grandmother was alive, she spent more than 32 million pounds and ten years to renovate the entire manor.
His complete renovation and transformation this time, in addition to modernization such as electrification and network addition, the overall renovation of the manor has become much less difficult.
It can also be seen from here that such a huge manor is indeed very majestic and luxurious, but the expenses required to maintain it are not something ordinary people can afford.
This is why many manors in England are now unable to maintain and can only be handed over to national funds; even those that still belong to aristocratic families need to obtain maintenance funds by opening the manors to the public and collecting tickets.
"The other thing is the management of the manor farm. I will meet with the manager of the farm next year."
Barron had already discussed these matters with Butler Sean on the phone before.
Including the farm at Chatsworth Manor, the Devonshire family still owns more than 50,000 acres of land across England - of course, this is far less than the more than 200,000 acres of land in the family's heyday. ——Most of these lands exist in the form of farms for planting and livestock raising.
The workshops attached to these farms will also process the agricultural products and meat produced to a certain extent, but most of them are sold directly as raw materials, mainly supplying surrounding residents and production workshops.
Barron knew that later on, the Prince of Wales used the produce from his own manor to create his own brand of organic products, manufacturing hundreds of products in three categories, including food, personal care products and gardening tools, and doing very well.
Therefore, he is also preparing to follow its lead earlier and use the Devonshire family's production to create his own organic brand and obtain more economic benefits.
This was what he planned to discuss with the manager of the farm tomorrow.
Barron is planning to directly integrate the entire Devonhill family farm into one company - Devonhill Ecological Agriculture Company.
As for the company's brands... The Prince of Wales's product is called Duchy Originals, and his is called Duchy Selected.
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.
