Bank Pursues £10m Debt from Owner of Historic Dickens Mansion

A Regent's Park mansion once occupied by literary icon Charles Dickens is now the focus of a legal dispute involving millions of pounds in unpaid debt. The Grade I-listed Hanover Terrace property, where Dickens lived in 1861 while writing Great Expectations, is at the heart of a possession claim brought by Banque Havilland, a Luxembourg-based lender, against its current owner, Deborah Fiorentino.

Ms Fiorentino, a former luxury property estate agent, is accused of defaulting on a £17.9 million loan secured in 2019 against three high-value London properties: the Hanover Terrace mansion, an adjacent mews house, and a third home in Frognal, Hampstead. The bank claims she now owes over £10 million, having stopped making interest payments since December 2022.

Despite the historic significance of the seven-bedroom Nash-designed property — complete with a gym, sauna, and views over Regent's Park boating lake — its current owner claims the investment has brought her nothing but misfortune.

Once married to both Italian aristocrat Giovanni Fiorentino and celebrity divorce lawyer Raymond "Jaws" Tooth, the 63-year-old is fighting the claim, arguing the bank acted "unreasonably" by blocking refinancing efforts, which she says cost her millions in potential deals.

In court, Banque Havilland's barrister, Michael Walsh KC, told Judge Nicholas Parfitt that Ms Fiorentino has repeatedly failed to meet her financial obligations. "She has made no interest payment whatsoever since December 2022. The reality is that she has had ample time to repay the amounts owed and cannot do so," he said. He added that the bank had already offered concessions, including delaying action and payment demands after her initial defaults.

The court also heard that Fiorentino claimed to be close to selling the mansion on several occasions — once to a Premier League footballer — though no sale ever materialised.

Her barrister, Thomas Rothwell, argued that the house has always been her primary residence and should not be repossessed. He has requested a "time order," which would grant her a few extra months to finalise financing or complete a sale, insisting she has been unfairly treated by the bank.

Judge Parfitt has reserved his decision on the possession claim for a later date.

Broadgate Legal