The strife and times of Bill Davies – a much maligned city property tycoon

Aug 15 2007 by Tony McDonough, Liverpool Daily Post

Bill Davies (320)

IT WOULD be an understatement to say Bill Davies is thick-skinned. Brickbats were first chucked in the property developer’s direction back in the mid-1970s following his £3m takeover of Aintree Racecourse, and they’ve continued to fly at him ever since.

Last week, the 72-year-old businessman finally relinquished control of his last major investment in Liverpool, the striking office complex known as Exchange Flags – in a deal with a joint venture formed by UK Land & Property and construction group Pochin.

The 460,000 sq ft site was sold in two stages – the 160,000 sq ft Horton House went last summer while the 300,000 sq ft Walker House was sold last week.

No figures were released for either sale but it’s estimated the joint venture might not have got much change out of £40m. That would represent a tidy profit on the £4.75m Davies paid for it back in 1988.

The sale to UK Land & Property means Davies has now disposed of all of his major interests in his home town.

At various points during a period spanning more than 30 years, the tycoon has owned some of Liverpool’s most prized property assets. As well as Aintree and Exchange Flags, he has owned Chavasse Park and the Post Office site in Whitechapel – and controversy has never been far away.

He held on to the last Exchange Flags and the Whitechapel site for as long as possible, much to the anger and frustration of the city’s political and business leaders. Davies, though, wasn’t to be hurried, choosing instead to conduct his affairs at his own pace, almost with a certain chutzpah.

Indeed, one unnamed business associate suggested he may have even revelled in playing hardball in business negotiations. Getting him to part with Exchange Flags, said the source, was no mean feat. “It has taken a great deal of effort to persuade Bill to sell these properties,” he said.

“He loves owning property and in fact when he has money rather than property he finds it much less exciting. He has owned Exchange Flags for around 20 years and getting him to part with it was like prising a toy from the fingers of a child.

“But he finally recognised it was time to let go and he is very pleased with the price he has got.”

He came close to parting with the property about four years ago. It is believed Manchester property firm Bruntwood almost had a deal within its grasp, only for it to collapse at the last minute.

“Bill Davies takes the idea of striking a hard bargain to a whole new level,” said another source close to the negotiations.

Davies may have earned himself a bogeyman reputation across Merseyside over the past three decades but there is much to admire in the way he has gone from a teenage building site worker to one of Merseyside’s richest individuals. Prior to last week’s deal his personal fortune was already estimated to be in the tens of millions.

His first job in the building trade was re-pointing the gable end of a house for £26 – when he was 15 years old. By the time he had reached the age of 24, and after a series of shrewd deals, he had made enough money to form the Walton Building Group.

Davies took over the famous Aintree Racecourse in a £3m deal with the celebrated “Queen of Aintree”, Mirabel Topham, in 1972. His swift business move saved the world’s greatest steeplechase.