Joie de vivre: UK billionaire launches luxury 'lock-up-and-leave' holiday homes in the glamorous French resort of Antibes

The glamorous apartments and villas are within a gated resort complex at Parc du Cap with indoor and outdoor pools, gym, spa, sauna and tennis courts.
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Cathy Hawker17 August 2018

Antibes perfectly sums up the two sides of the South of France.

On the one hand it is big and brash, awash with superyachts in the marina and multimillion-pound villas on the rarefied Cap.

On the other it is typically French, from the smells and sounds of its Provençal fruit and vegetable market to its cobbled Old Town streets.

Antibes has always piled on the glamour. Its famous open-air jazz festival, headlined this summer by Lenny Kravitz, has run annually since 1960.

John Caudwell, the UK-based mobile phone billionaire has invested heavily in and around the resort and is launching Parc du Cap at Juan-les-Pins, the first of a series of schemes dubbed the Caudwell Collection.

When completed, the pioneer project will offer a high-quality gated modern complex of 88 apartments and two villas.

Parc du Cap is in five acres of beautifully planted grounds with exceptional facilities including indoor and outdoor pools, a spacious gym, spa and sauna and a tennis court. There is full-time security, secure underground parking and a concierge, ideal for a lock-and-leave holiday home.

From £524,000: apartments at Parc du Cap in Juan-les-Pins (+33 4 23 12 00 18)

One to three-bedroom flats start from £524,000 with four-bedroom penthouses complete with huge roof terraces and pools from £4,418,000.

A two-bedroom apartment would have typical service charges of £580 a month and could achieve a weekly rent in high season of £2,200-£2,600, says the Caudwell Collection’s Matthew Murison. “So far, a third of apartments and all the three-bedrooms are sold,” he adds.

REVIVING THE STARS' FAVOURITE BOLTHOLE

Celebrities have long enjoyed Antibes. Charlie Chaplin, Pablo Picasso, Coco Chanel and Winston Churchill among them, and many chose to stay at Le Provençal in Juan-les-Pins on the western side of Cap d’Antibes.

This palace hotel beside the Med, built in the Twenties, heralded an era of elegance and style. In 1976 it closed for refurbishment and never reopened. Today it stands derelict, a vast, Art Deco landmark.

“Juan-les-Pins certainly had a reputation for glamour but the closure of Le Provençal had a detrimental effect on the town,” admits Murison. “In the Seventies both Saint-Tropez and Cannes were on the up and they rather stole the limelight.”

Chic homeware inspired by the French Riviera

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Now a new era has dawned for Juan-les-Pins and this landmark hotel. After various stop-start attempts to refurbish Le Provençal it is set to join the Caudwell Collection with long-term plans to create 35-40 ultra high-end apartments there.

“We aim to launch Le Provençal in 2022-23,” says Murison. “Already we have been working on it extensively, underpinning the basement.”

From Parc du Cap it is an easy walk to the shops, restaurants and beachfront of Juan-les-Pins, while a 20-minute stroll takes you across the Cap to Antibes Old Town and Port.

Shop like the French: the fruit and veg market is a highlight of Antibes
Getty Images

This convenient location is a major attraction, says Olivier Maugery-Pons of Savills. “While most residents in Cannes require a car to get around, in compact Juan-les-Pins everything is within walking distance. The town is fantastic in summer especially with festivals, concerts and a great party atmosphere.”

Parc du Cap has a much higher price point than homes immediately outside, agrees Maugery-Pons, who adds: “That’s because it ticks all the boxes. It has good security, services, facilities and top build quality.”

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