It's the Albion sale .
AT ALBION CASTLE, the auctioneers are in. This will be the country-house sale of all time and make Mentmore and Hackwood look like jumble sales in parish halls. Lot one, a fine old English merchant bank, property of a titled family, handed down though ten generations of Barings, slightly foxed — what am I bid? Do I hear a bil- lion? Five hundred? One pound, sir? Any advance? Sold to the gentleman from Hol- land. Now come on, don't be shy, the first lot's so often a bargain . Lot two, the Savoy collection of period English hotels. Lovingly preserved by the D'Oyly Carte and Wontner families — no, Sir Rocco, I don't think we can go into that, but are you bidding? I'm afraid this is a job lot, we won't split it — the gentleman in the stet- son? Against you at the back, sir? Five hun- dred? And twenty? Are you all done? Sold for £520 million to the Blackstone Group of New York.
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