Billionaire Spurs Owner's Superyacht Mooring Sparks Local Outrage in Dartmouth

A SUPERYACHT owned by billionaire former Spurs owner Joe Lewis has been branded an eyesore by locals after it was moored in a Devon town for almost a month.

The £250 million, 322ft luxury yacht 'Aviva' - which acts as the reclusive billionaire’s floating home and office and features a full-size padel tennis court - has been moored in Dartmouth since the start of August.

It arrived from Troon, Scotland, around August 5 - one of the first times the floating palace has been in UK waters since it was held as collateral by US courts for over a year while British tycoon Lewis faced charges of “brazen” insider trading.

In April, the 87-year-old was spared jail due to his ailing health but was fined $5million (£3.8m) and sentenced to three years probation.

But the ongoing presence of the yacht has upset some in the town with Michael Rowland branding the boat “an absolute eyesore” and Geraldine Wood arguing it was “totally out of place in beautiful Dartmouth”.

Another lifelong resident told The Sun: “I love this town and I wouldn’t want to do it down but why does a billionaire want to stay here for the whole of August instead of the Caribbean or the Med?

“The weather is crap, it's been raining constantly for the last few weeks.

“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.”

Aviva: A Floating Palace

Aviva was built in 2017 and has a capacity of 16 with a top speed of 20 knots and an eco-friendly hybrid electric propulsion system.

Lewis started out working for his father’s catering business in London before selling up and moving to the Bahamas to live as a tax exile.

He started currency trading in the 1980s and made a fortune betting against the pound in the 1992 crash dubbed Black Wednesday.

According to the 2023 Sunday Times Rich List, the East End-born, twice-married tycoon has an estimated fortune of £5.1billion.

He reportedly has an art collection worth £1 billion.

A Life of Luxury and Controversy

He bought Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur in 1991, and the club was transferred to the Lewis Family Trust in 2022.

Joe Lewis rarely attended Tottenham Hotspur matches despite being owner for 30 years.

A tax exile since his days as a currency trader in the 1980s, he prefers life on his superyacht in the Caribbean.

Lewis' vessel - which measures 98 metres or 322ft - is the fourth yacht named Aviva built specifically for him.

It replaced the 68m Aviva III, with both designed by Reymond Langton and built by Lemwerder-based German builder Abeking & Rasmussen.

The hull was built at Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft and launched in 2015.

The Luxurious Amenities of Aviva

Aviva acts as Lewis' floating office and home, and features an indoor, full-sized padel tennis court.

In May 2013, Spurs went on a trip to the Bahamas and were welcomed on board the vessel by host Joe.

Michael Dawson, who was the club captain at the time, said: “I had never met him before, so it was nice to go over there and a great experience.

“What a really nice guy. And that yacht is unreal! But he’s just a normal guy.

“You could chat to him about anything. He tunes into all the games, he loves it.

“We just sat there chatting. He made us feel so welcome over there. It was relaxed. A lot of team bonding together.

“It helps to be able to put a face to the person investing so much in this club he wants to be successful.

“He’s always watching. He knows what goes on. He would remember every game, every little thing.”

The Sun has contacted Lewis' company Tavistock for comment.

The Man Behind the Superyacht

Joe Lewis is a billionaire British businessman and investor, best known for being the majority owner of Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur between 1991 and 2022.

He was born on February 5 1937 and lived above a pub with his family in Bow, East London.

Lewis left school at 15 to help run his father's West End catering firm, Tavistock Banqueting.

He went on to takeover the business and expand it before selling up in 1979 to make his initial wealth.

The entrepreneur moved into currency trading in the 1980s and 1990s, during which time he moved to the Bahamas as a tax exile.

In 1992, Lewis made a fortune betting against the pound prior to the Black Wednesday crash.

The previous year he had taken ownership of Spurs.

He remains the main investor of Tavistock Group, which owns more than 200 companies worldwide.

Lewis is also the largest shareholder in pub group Mitchells & Butlers via his investment vehicle Piedmont, and was previously majority owner of ENIC Group.

In July 2023 the US attorney for the Southern District of New York charged him with multiple counts of insider trading.

He pleaded guilty in January this year but in April was spared jail and instead sentenced to probation and fined $5 million (£3.8m).

According to the 2023 Sunday Times Rich List, he has an estimated fortune of a whopping £5.1billion.

A Controversial Figure in the World of Finance

The news of Lewis’s superyacht being an eyesore in Dartmouth is just the latest chapter in a long and complex story of a man who has made a fortune in the world of finance but has also been embroiled in controversy.

His tax exile status and his conviction for insider trading have made him a divisive figure in the UK. But there’s no denying that he has been a successful businessman who has built a vast empire. And his superyacht, Aviva, is a testament to his wealth and his love of the finer things in life.