It could be a bleak Christmas party for Arsenal Football Club on the 22 December, as Steerpike hears their planned festive bash booked in at Brocket Hall in Berkshire may be a little austere thanks to a lack of the hall’s usual furniture.
Since Lord Brocket’s spell at Her Majesty’s Pleasure, the artistic accountant has been forced to rent out the 500 acre family pile and he’s fallen out in spectacular fashion with current tenant Dieter Klostermann, the German leisure entrepreneur whose company is reportedly burdened by debt of £16.5m.
The argument boiled over into the pages of the Mail in July after eight police cars intercepted an audacious attempt by Brocket to extract heirlooms and furniture from the Hall that he claims he has the right to remove. At the time he said:
‘The contents are worth millions of pounds and include furniture plus art from Van Dyck – items which have been in our family for a long time. I’m gobsmacked that on the Queen’s highway somebody can be stopped by the police for transporting their own furniture.’
Brocket claims Klosterman has now conceded that he has no claim over the furniture, and the lairy Lord is wasting no time in coming back for it: ‘Klostermann has taken money from clients for over a year knowing his retention of the contents is unlawful.’
As a Chelsea fan, does not seem too bothered about the problems this might cause Arsene Wenger and co for their overnight party: ‘I imagine Arsenal will be pretty pissed off to have no table to sit at and no trust artwork on the walls.’
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