Martin Gilbert told The Press and Journal he is no hurry to sell his £2.5 million home in the west end of Aberdeen.
His Rubislaw Den North mansion, Cramond House, was put up for sale last week.
The entrepreneur told us he is fully prepared for it to be on the market for a long time.
Demand for luxury homes worth millions of pounds has been considerably weakened by soaring mortgage rates.
Fellow entrepreneur Stewart Milne still can’t find buyer for his £7.5 million pad in Bieldside
Mr Gilbert need only look to the experience of fellow north-east multimillionaire Stewart Milne, who made his fortune out of building homes, to realise the sale process could be lengthy.
Mr Milne, 72, has yet to find a buyer willing to fork out £7.5 million after putting his stunning home in Bieldside, Aberdeen, up for sale more than a year ago.
Property agent Savills is marketing Cramond House as a “once in a generation opportunity to acquire a home of great stature”.
The mansion has “incredible elegance and character”, the sales blurb says.
Mr Gilbert and his wife, Fiona, have decided they no longer need their opulent nine-bedroom dwelling on Rubislaw Den. They have another, smaller home in Milltimber.
And the couple spend much of their time in London, where they also own property.
Mrs Gilbert is head of radiology at Cambridge University’s school of clinical medicine.
Boardroom roles in the financial services industry keep her husband busy down south.
Three grown-up children – Jamie, Mhairi and Kirstin – flew the Aberdeen nest long ago.
Cramond House is, therefore, rather surplus to the family’s requirements these days.
“It might not sell in the current market but it would be nice if someone takes up the opportunity to look after it,” Mr Gilbert said.
He added: “It’s too big a house for us now but it’s an absolutely stunning home.”
The Victorian mansion has been in the family “20 maybe 30 years” and had extensive refurbishment during that time, he said.
I am still a massive supporter of Aberdeen. It’s a city that is on its way up again.”
And insisting his commitment to the Granite City is as strong as ever, he said: “I am still a massive supporter of Aberdeen. It’s a city that is on its way up again.
“Resurgence in offshore waters and the new (enlarged) port are both very positive.”
Savills has hailed the sale of the home as an “exceptional opportunity to acquire the largest detached granite mansion house in the locale”.
As well as its nine bedrooms, the Gilberts’ palatial home boasts seven bathrooms, six reception rooms and a gym.
Whoever buys it will find themselves in well-healed company in the neighbourhood.
Rubislaw Den North is a broad, tree-lined street that was once dubbed “Millionaires’ Row”. Its AB15 postcode area counted 240 millionaires among its residents at one point, the second-highest concentration in the UK.
Martin Gilbert and his high-flying career in financial services
One of the best known Scots in London’s square mile, largely thanks to his days as chief executive of financial services powerhouse Aberdeen Asset Management (AAM), Mr Gilbert was born in Malaysia and educated in Aberdeen.
He holds accountancy and law degrees from Aberdeen University.
His family has Maryculter House Hotel in Lower Deeside in its private investment portfolio, while the Gilberts also own fishing beats on the River Dee.
AAM: From small beginnings to its £3.8 billion takeover
Mr Gilbert trained as a chartered accountant with Deloitte, later teaming up with other investors to buy Aberdeen asset manager Brander & Cruikshank, which became AAM.
The company grew rapidly throughout the 1990s, setting up offices in Asia.
But in 2003 it nearly went bust amid an industry-wide scandal over split capital investment trusts which left thousands of investors millions of pounds out of pocket.
Mr Gilbert led AAM through its £3.8 billion takeover by Edinburgh-based Standard Life in 2017, becoming co-CEO of Standard Life Aberdeen alongside Keith Skeoch. He severed ties with the financial services giant, now abrdn, at the end of September 2020.
But his long history in asset and wealth management didn’t end there. He is now chairman of AssetCo and Revolut, and deputy chairman of River and Mercantile Group, among other corporate boardroom roles.
