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(Continued from overleaf)
Plender: 'Well, when you say several billion dollars, in gross terms or are you saying that they have a net worth of several billion dollars?'
MacArthur: 'Their net worth from what I know is several billion dollars.'
We shall see. Meanwhile, Channel 4, like The Observer, stressed the extent of the Fayeds' borrowings.
Plender's message was: 'When the Fayeds acquired the store chain in 1985 its total debts stood at just £95 million. In 1987, just over two years later, the combined debt on the stores group and its holding company had escalated nearly tenfold to £901 million.'
Here, in my opinion, lies the rub, not only for Lord Young but also for the Fayeds' miscellany of bankers (more numerous even than their lawyers) led by Samuel Montagu.
As it is, Mohamed Fayed appears more offshore than ever and, these days, is seldom seen in his mansion -- hardly a billionaire pile -- at Barrow Green Court, just north of the leafy, dormitory town of Oxted, Surrey.
Incidentally, I am told the back gate, in Hogstrough Lane, is liberally adorned with barbed wire and sports notices, of the Berlin Wall variety, which warn of patrols and dogs. Locals even talk of armed guards. I wonder why? Harrods' merchandise isn't that shoddy, is it?
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