Andreas Liveras

Andreas Dionysiou Liveras (1935 – 26 November 2008) was a Cyprus-born British businessman, who rose from modest means to own and run successful bakery and yacht charter companies. He held British and Cypriot citizenship and was killed during Mumbai attacks of November 2008.

Andreas Liveras, who was murdered by terrorists in Bombay on November 26 aged 73, was a self-made millionaire, rising from humble origins to become one of Britain's most successful entrepreneurs with a fortune estimated at £300 million.

The story of Mr Liveras' rise from humble origins to become one of Britain's most successful businessman is testimony to his determination and energy. He grew up in a small village outside the Greek Cypriot capital Nicosia and by his mid-twenties had put into place a plan to make his £306million fortune. He claimed to have brought the first combine harvester to the island, hoping to hire it and himself out to neighbouring farms. All went well for two years until disaster struck. In an interview Mr Liveras recalled: ‘The brakes went. I was up on the hill and coming down... My brother was in the back and I said to Gregory “Jump!”... and I jumped and then he jumped and we just grabbed some bushes. ‘There was a very high drop, some 300 metres down and the tractor is still there now, a mass of iron.’ Struggling for money as the combine harvester was not insured, Mr Liveras came to London in 1963, taking a job as a deliveryman with the tiny Fleur de Lys Patisseries in Kensington. Three years later, he bought the business for £2,500. ‘We didn't even bother with a contract,’ Mr Liveras once said. ‘Every Saturday I would send an envelope with postal orders for £10, £20 or even £30 until he was paid in full.’ Within three years, the company had moved from its Kensington basement with six staff to a factory in Newark, Nottinghamshire, employing 450 people. It had by then branched out from Danish pastries and the like to introducing such luxuries as Black Forest gateau to the British public. In 1985, Mr Liveras sold Fleur de Lys to Express Dairies for around £40 million. The company was one of the biggest suppliers of cakes in Europe, employing 1,200 staff. Aged 50, he had retired but found himself restless, despite the joys of owning his first yacht. ‘Retirement was the worst year of my life. I was so bored that I was up at five washing the boat and waking the crew,’ he admitted a few years later. Indulging his growing passion for yachts, he launched Liveras Yachts, based in Monaco. He would go on to buy vessels, renovate them and sell them on for huge profits.

The yacht in which Andreas had sailed to Bombay, the 280ft Alysia, was built in 2006 at a cost of £65 million, and has five decks, a helicopter pad, a cinema, 18 bedrooms and a permanent crew of 34. More than 150 tons of marble were used to decorate the interior. With an onboard medical centre, a cinema, gym, and a health and beauty salon, she costs £7 million a year to keep afloat and £500,000 a week to charter. Guests have included the pop singer Robbie William, the King of Bahrain, Beyonce and her husband Jay Z and she was chartered by the footballer Wayne Rooney and his fiancée Coleen McLoughlin for their wedding reception on the Italian Riviera in June. On embarkation guests are encouraged to remove their footwear in favour of Alysia-monogrammed white slippers; when they disembark they are expected to leave tips totalling around £27,000, to be shared equally among the crew.

Liveras had planned to build four more yachts, the largest of which was to be 395ft long. He was renowned for his attention to detail on all his vessels and for knowing all of his crew personally. In addition to this he was also a qualified pilot.

Andreas Liveras's wife, Anna died one year before him and he is survived by his four children Mary, Dion, Sophia and Krita and his eight grand children; Natasha, Tanya, Alex, Andreas, Lauren, Luke, Annaliesse and Alysia.

References

External links

• laurens.co.uk - Laurens Patisseries official site
• liverasyachts.com - official site