Some of Britain’s richest men are some of the biggest land owners in Mallorca. If they were to sell their Mallorcan properties and land their fortune would increase considerably. Sir Richard Branson’s Son Bunyola estate in Banyalbufar has 200 hectares. In fact, the Virgin tycoon owns a sizeable slice of the municipality of Banyalbufar which, as a joke, was dubbed Virgin town when he first bought the property and extensive land.
But the biggest land owners are the Reuben Brothers with a personal fortune of 24 billion pounds. Brothers David and Simon Reuben own 1065 hectares (2,632 acres), of sea frontage totalling around 13.5k in Mallorca. The holdings are located within Manacor, Capdepera, Arta, and overlooking the Bay of Palma. So far the billionaires have not disclosed what plans they have for their Mallorca assets. They have extensive real estate interests.
And Branson and the Reuben brothers now have a shared interest in London.
Virgin Hotels has confirmed it will take over management of London hotel Mondrian Shoreditch on August 1. Virgin Hotels London-Shoreditch will form part of a long-term agreement between Virgin Hotels and real estate investment and development firm Reuben Brothers, which owns the property.
The freehold of the property was sold to Reuben Brothers in 2018, a year after the building was launched as The Curtain hotel under New York operator Michael Achenbaum. The property reopened as a Mondrian in spring 2021.
Sir Richard Branson, founder of parent company Virgin Group, said: “I’m absolutely delighted that Virgin Hotels Collection will be opening a Virgin hotel in London. Since the inception of Virgin Hotels, we’ve had our sights set on London; a place that so many of our customers either call home, or name as one of their favourite destinations – and of course is where Virgin’s story started.
“At Virgin, we’ve been smartly disrupting the travel industry for more than 40 years, from land to air to sea - our success comes from identifying where we can make a difference. London is a natural addition to the Virgin Hotels Collection, and I can’t wait for our customers to experience it.”
And while Virgin Hotels opens in London, Branson new Son Bunyola Hotel in Banyalbufar, which opened last summer, appears to be just the start of an ambitious project Sir Richard has for expanding in Mallorca and even venturing into Ibiza - not to mention operating Virgin flights to Mallorca during the winter.
And work is about to begin on restoring Son Valentí which is connected to the Son Bunyola estate.
Sir Richard secured approval for a second hotel on the estate in 2021 and the plan is to restore the 15th century property, which has a mediaeval defence tower, a finca, an oil mill, garages and stables, into a boutique hotel with just 12 suites by 2026.