There was cause for celebration at 32 Portland Place last week, the £15 million west London mansion of Edward Davenport. The self-proclaimed “crazy businessman”, also known as “Fast Eddie”, won a court case to stop the police from shutting down parties at his home. “The fight. Won. Freedom to party,” the 58-year-old wrote on Instagram after the verdict was announced.
“I’m happy,” he tells me over the phone from his “penthouse apartment in Bangkok” where he now spends half his time. Davenport flew back to Thailand from London, successfully defying the lockdown – which would have stopped anyone who was not a resident of the area from entering it.
Police have reportedly been sent to the address 63 times over the past few years, after numerous complaints from neighbors about excessive noise, allegations of drug use, vomiting on the street and parking issues. Davenport’s attorney argued in court that there was a “cultural difference between a party goer” like Davenport and the neighbors who complained.
“I am a person who likes to go out for fun,” he says. “One of my neighbors is a corporate lawyer, another said he works 14 hours a day and wants to be quiet. I had to fight for this issue so that everyone has the right to celebrate. Many people buy these houses for a lot of money leaving them empty and no one is allowed to see or enjoy them. Number 28 is empty, Number 30 is an empty office, Number 34 is the Polish embassy but is currently empty. I’ve been at Portland Place for over 30 years and I want people to be happy. “
To say Davenport “likes to go out” is an understatement. The son of a successful restaurateur, he studied at the progressive boarding school Frensham Heights, in Surrey, and began selling clothes at a market on Portobello Road, in Notting Hill. As soon as he turned 16, he started organizing “Gatecrasher Balls” – informal parties for public school students at modest houses, such as Longleat in Wiltshire – and claims to have made his first million in his early twenties.
Guests at one of Davenport’s Gatecrasher Balls in 1988 – Shutterstock
But in 1990, aged 24, he was jailed for nine months for failing to pay VAT on his Gatecrasher tickets. He served only 16 days of his sentence. He was asked by Tatler about how he survived two weeks in prison, Davenport laughed: “It’s boring. There aren’t many parties there.”
After his release, he went into real estate development, controversially taking over 33 Portland Place, the former embassy of Sierra Leone, at the height of the country’s war. He is said to have tricked the commissioner into selling him the contract for just £50,000. He later received a free transfer of £3.75 million.
Built in 1775 by the neoclassical architect Robert Adam, the luxury home boasted 24-bedrooms, a jacuzzi, a ballroom and London’s only hydraulic wall. Davenport rented it out as a place for parties and film shoots – Kate Moss shot the Agent Provocateur campaign there, Amy Winehouse did hers. Rehab The video is in the billions room, and was featured as a scene in the 2010 Oscar winning film. The King’s speech.
A gathering at the house in 2005, organized by the Rothschild family, was attended by Princes William and Harry. On his website, Davenport boasts of rubbing shoulders with famous friends, such as David Beckham, Naomi Campbell and 50 Cent. At one time, his wealth was estimated at £102 & hairsp; million and claimed to have a private jet and a large collection of sports cars.
From 2005 onwards, the house hosted Killing Kittens events, high-profile “adult” events organized by Kate Middleton’s school friend, Emma Sayle.
Davenport House at 32 Portland Place, London W1 – Andrew Crowley
Davenport also hosted a 300-person sex party called Passing Fancies. “I started doing KK and Passing Fancies because it was a great way to meet people,” says Davenport. “It was a great crowd. People suspect sex parties and think they mean drugs and loud music but, in fact, it’s the opposite. People don’t want this music to be played as much as they want to hear each other.”
It was around this time that he started writing himself “Lord Davenport” after he claimed to have won the right to use the name from an estate he once owned in Shropshire. “I wish very much. I have many friends. I live a great life,” he said in 2008. “I have a very nice house in Monaco, so you have to have a lot of money coming in for this to continue.”
But in 2009, he was arrested and charged with fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation, and money laundering. Using the alias James Stewart, Davenport had conned more than 50 people out of millions, including Elizabeth Emanuel, the designer of Princess Diana’s wedding dress, who lost her savings after being guaranteed a £1 million loan. Davenport denied all charges when the Serious Fraud Office investigated.
Meanwhile, the lavish parties at his den continued and, in 2010, Westminster City Council sued Davenport, accusing him of violating the noise abatement ordinance. The case was dismissed and Davenport was awarded £28,000 in costs.
The council then brought an action in the High Court claiming that Davenport’s use of the property was in breach of planning permission as Davenport had filled the swimming pool with 1,000 liters of cognac. This proved to be an ad for the US beverage brand, but a Supreme Court judge issued a blanket ban on home use for non-residential purposes.
At any rate, Davenport’s party days seemed to be over. In 2011, he was sentenced to seven years and eight months in Wandsworth Prison for fraud.
‘Fast Eddie’ outside Southwark Crown Court during his fraud trial in 2011 – Heathcliff O’Malley
He was released after three years due to health issues – he went on to receive two kidney transplants. While on the bail, Davenport wore an ankle tag under the trouser leg of his Savile Row-designed William Hunt suits. “You can’t beat them all,” says Davenport, when I ask him about his time in prison. He denies any wrongdoing.
In 2015, he was forced to sell 33 Portland Place for £25 million to pay the Serious Fraud Office a £14 million Compensation and Confiscation Order. (It was bought by David Sullivan, the chairman of West Ham United, and is currently being bought for £65 million.) But the party was not over – Davenport then bought the house across the street – 32 Portland Place – there. the wild night continued.
“He was like Hugh Hefner, walking around in a red smoking jacket,” recalls Deborah, who attended a party at 32 Portland Place in 2019. “All the women were in dresses and the men were in suits. The house itself was empty and shabby, but I remember that one the room had a large white marble fireplace, and the basement had bars for the ladies to dance in. There was also a VIP ‘Party Room’ where people performed sex.”
But partygoers at 32 Portland Place didn’t always have a good time. In the case that was tried last week, it became clear that there were two rape cases at this house. The previous case happened in July, and is currently under investigation, the other was dismissed due to lack of evidence.
Parties organized by Davenport were also linked to two murders, including bouncer Tudor Simionov, who was killed when he tried to stop vandals from going to a party at a Park Lane house in 2019. Three men were arrested for killing a 33-year-old man. the following year.
The second incident, which took place in Lewisham but involved guests believed to have attended one of the parties in Davenport, is being investigated.
Davenport is said to ‘skulk’ around his parties in a velvet smoking jacket in the style of Hugh Hefner – Tony Buckingham / Shutterstock
None of the events involved Davenport himself. “That happened seven miles from my house, it just happened that the person involved was there at some point in the night,” he says.
Now Davenport says he only hosts 32 “art salons” — small gatherings of 100 people that end at midnight, where artists can show off their work and network.
The biggest parties he throws these days are in Thailand. On his Instagram account, Davenport calls himself “Dad” and regularly posts videos of himself partying and pouring bottles into the mouths of young Thai women.
Davenport has never been married and says she is “committed [to] leisure and recreation”. It has certainly been a colorful life for “Lord Cheating” – as the tabloids call him. Does he have any regrets? “No, it’s all been fun,” he insists. “If there was no danger it would be boring.”
Although he is almost 60, he says he has no plans to retire and says he likes the “Fast Eddie” brand. “Well, it’s better than ‘Slow Eddie’,” he says.
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