Inside abandoned Algarve resort where Ant and Dec and Phillip Schofield lost £7.5m as developer went bust
SHOCKING photographs reveal the state of the abandoned “luxury” villas which Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly lost millions of pounds on.
The TV duo, along with Phillip Schofield, are fighting to get their cash back after the three lost a combined £7.5million in the “nightmare” collapse of the incomplete Algarve complex.
The trio lost out when a bank withdrew its financial backing of The Keys development.
Ant and Dec are attempting to retrieve their deposits, along with almost £430,000 compensation each.
The pair have told their lawyers to try and get back the seven-figure sums they forked out when they thought they were investing in high-end properties with cinemas, rooftop pools and bars.
They reportedly signed contracts for neighbouring houses on the 72-villa development in October 2015.
And Schofield agreed to buy a six-bedroom house nearby said to have an atrium as high as a cathedral.
GRIM REALITY
But images from the site show the whole development decrepit and left to rot.
Situated next to a golf course close to the swanky Quinta do Lago resort, the development looks nothing like what was advertised in its marketing materials.
Pools stand half-empty with stagnant rainwater and rubbish, and the luscious green lawns are brown and withered.
Documents released in April say Ant is owed 2,780,710 euros (£2,375,690).
While Dec is owed 2,797,293 euros (£2,389,853).
‘BEEN A NIGHTMARE’
A friend of the pair told the Mirror: “It’s been a nightmare for them.
“It’s devastating for both stars to lose their villas in such a special place — it was meant to be a perfect bolthole for them.
“Ant’s place would have been one of the most attractive homes on the complex.
“He’d hired an interior designer to turn it into his dream holiday destination, with pools on the roof and on the ground floor.”
A law firm based in Lisbon is working for Schofield, who is £1,399,334 out of pocket, and is after an extra 500,000 euros in compensation.
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But all three TV personalities have been warned their chances of getting compensation aren’t great.
State-owned bank Caixa Geral de Depositos is owed £240million and is second in line to get its debt after the taxman.
The developer, Birchview Imobiliaria, which was declared insolvent in 2017, says the bank was wrong to withdraw its backing.
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