Billionaire former Tottenham Hotspur owner Joe Lewis has ‘taken over’ a picturesque Devon town after parking his £250million superyacht off the coast for almost a month.
The superyacht acts as a floating home for the private businessman, who is worth approximately $6.4billion (£4.8billion), and features onyx and marble interiors, an office and even a padel tennis court.
The 322-foot custom-built yacht has been docked in Dartmouth since the beginning of August after arriving from Troon, Scotland around August 5.
But local residents have complained about the boats long-term presence, calling it ‘an absolute eyesore’ and saying it is ‘totally out of place in beautiful Dartmouth’
Aviva had not been seen in British waters for some time as it was held as collateral by US courts for over a year whilst Lewis faced charges of insider trading conspiracy charges which he pleaded guilty to in January, admitting to sharing insider secrets about publicly traded companies with several individuals.
Billionaire former Tottenham Hotspur owner Joe Lewis has ‘taken over’ a picturesque Devon town after parking his £250million superyacht off the coast for almost a month
The 322-foot custom-built yacht has been docked in Dartmouth since the beginning of August after arriving from Troon, Scotland around August 5
The superyacht dwarfs buildings and people as it is seen blocking the view from one street
Under US sentencing guidelines, Lewis faced 18 months to two years behind bars but he escaped jail time because of his age and medical issues and was instead handed a sentence of three years probation and $5million (£3.8million) fine.
One lifelong local questioned why the billionaire would want to spend nearly a month in Dartmouth, where it has been raining a lot, instead of somewhere more tropical like the Caribbean or the Mediterranean
They told The Sun: ‘I guess he’s here for the regatta that starts this week but who knows how long he’ll stay.
‘It’s just a huge floating gin palace, miles bigger than anything else in the harbour. We’ve seen his crew come and go in a tender but I don’t know if he’s even onboard – nobody’s heard anything.’
The superyacht acts as a floating home for the private businessman, who is worth approximately $6.4billion (£4.8billion)
The floating palace features onyx and marble interiors, an office and even a padel tennis court
Joe Lewis leaves Manhattan federal court in New York City on July 26, 2023
Aviva was built in 2017, sleeps 16 people and has a top speed of 20 knots and an eco-friendly hybrid electric propulsion system.
Lewis was born and raised in the UK, and turned his father’s catering business, Tavistock Banqueting, into a company that sold luxury goods to American tourists, before turning to currency trading in the 1970s.
He moved to the Bahamas to avoid paying UK tax rates, and made millions betting against the British pound and the Mexican peso in the 1990s.
He eventually bought Tottenham Hotspur, though was removed as a ‘person of significant control’ in 2022 after it was handed over to a family trust.