Winter sports Berkshire businessman gets a bargain but will have to spend £20m to revive ailing holiday village
It would not buy you half a cup of hot chocolate in an Alpine cafe, but for just one Swiss franc - less than 50p - a British entrepreneur has become the proud owner of a ski resort.
Bruno Prior, a keen skier, will have the run of 12 miles of slopes and four lifts, not to mention all the machinery necessary to maintain his pistes above the Swiss village of Ernen. And he can survey his snowy domain from the terrace of his own restaurant.
Of course, there is a catch. Prior's company Summerleaze has had to promise to invest more than £20m to bring the resort up to scratch and save a village that has been in decline for years. It's a big job and Prior may be spending more time in his office than on the slopes.