Petra Ecclestone to sue builder over £1.6million which went missing

Petra (Ecclestone) Stunt

Petra Stunt, daughter of Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, is suing the builder, Paul Fleury, who took charge of renovations on her Chelsea home. Fleury, 45, allegedly created invoices for companies which didn't exist. Fleury is accused of transferring the money to accounts controlled by him.

Petra Stunt, 25, bought one of London’s most magnificent townhouses, Sloane House, for £70 million in February 2012 and appointed Paul Fleury, 45, to oversee lavish renovations. She set aside £25million for building work including a pool, gym, and underground car park.

But last year the family discovered that Fleury, a friend who had worked for them for the past seven years and was paid £7,000 a month to manage the renovation work, was allegedly forging invoices from companies that did not exist and paying them into bank accounts controlled by him.

Fleury says his payments had been verbally agreed with Petra and that they were ‘commissions’ – a claim denied by the Ecclestones.

Petra's London House

In the writ served by Princess Diana’s former lawyers, Mishcon de Reya, it is alleged Fleury is a ‘sophisticated fraudster’ who sent Petra the invoices via a company she owns called Sloane House Ltd.

It was a clearly a step too far for the flamboyant Petra who, alongside sister Tamara, 29, is often portrayed as spending ‘Daddy’s billions’ with barely a thought for the bottom line.

When Petra married art collector James Stunt, her mother Slavica justified the £12 million cost of the three-day wedding as ‘worth every penny’.

When she bought Sloane House, formerly owned by Tory peer Lord Bamford, friends quipped ‘it will give Petra something to do’.

Fleury helped to renovate and restore eight family properties, he said, including one in Switzerland. He told The Mail on Sunday that he had considered himself a ‘family friend’ and had attended Petra’s wedding.

He added: ‘It’s a complicated story. I am surprised the Ecclestone family want this coming to court.’

A spokesman for Petra said: ‘All this is before the courts at present, we cannot comment.’