Billionaire Manchester City boss buys luxury Norman stud farm visited by Elizabeth II

It was a visit that took place far from the cameras and of which very few photos remain today. On May 28, 1967, on vacation in France, Queen Elizabeth II, a seasoned rider and horse racing enthusiast, went to Normandy, where she visited several stud farms, including that of Fresnay-le-Buffard. At the time, the estate belonged to Marcel Boussac, then the richest man in France, who had made his fortune in the textile industry (hence his nickname “king of cotton”) and was notably known for having offered to Christian Dior his haute couture house.

Since then, the Fresnay-le-Buffard stud farm, founded in 1903 and which extends over 325 hectares, has been bought by Strávros Niárchos, a famous Greek shipowner, has often made national headlines for its horses, among the most prestigious in the world. world. This legendary area, inaccessible to the general public, is the birthplace of seven winners of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and many other champions. A legend which will continue to be written under another name since our colleagues from “Ouest-France” revealed that the Fresnay-le-Buffard stud farm had been purchased by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, vice-president of the Emirates United Arabs and boss of ten football clubs, including Manchester City and Troyes, on December 26.

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The latter would have the ambition, according to Hubert Séjourné, mayor of Rônai, to revive the estate (which today houses more cows than horses) “as in its heyday”, through the hiring of 30 people (in addition of the 15 current employees).

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A sale of 26.8 million

The Fresnay-le-Buffard stud farm was put up for sale by Sotheby’s Deauville at a price of 26.8 million euros. Straddling four communes, the estate includes an 18th century castle, a 5-hectare park, two residences of 525 and 235 square meters, 23 accommodations for guests and staff, more than 200 boxes, a 900-meter track and a capacity of 1,200 horses. Enough to reinforce the ambitions of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a lover of purebred Arabians who is buying his fifth equestrian estate in Normandy here with a barely veiled dream, that of seeing the names of his foals displayed while top of the charts for the most prestigious races.