Retired expatriate hedge fund trader Greg Coffey's Scottish island golf course designs creating a wedge: Title Tattle
Despite the prestige Palm Beach peninsula rumour mill's normal reliability, Title Tattle scoffs at the suggestion the hedge fund expatriate Greg Coffey bought himself an early retirement present – the neighbouring $13 million Whale Beach property known as The Wedge.
No word on the buyer's identity from the Raine & Horne selling agent Glenn Lee, but almost everyone has assumed the speed of its acquisition, and the very bullish price, all had the modus operandi of the hedge fund trader, nicknamed the Wizard of Oz.
Of course last week Greg Coffey hit international headlines when he announced his retirement aged 41 from his London hedge fund, taking with him as estimated fortune of $400 million to enjoy.
His resignation letter at Moore Capital Management even said he intended to spend more time in Australia with his wife, Ania, and their children.
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But Title Tattle gleans the rumour that swept the peninsula over the weekend that Coffey was last Friday's $13 million-plus buyer of adman Geoff Cousins' weekender (pictured above) was way off.
Certainly buying the neighbouring property had been a habit of Coffey's, as earlier this year he spent $2.5 million to buy a property that adjoins Merdjayoun, the 1930s Balmoral hillside house he bought in 2005 for $11.8 million.
The Coffeys paid $7.75 million in 2006 for their Whale Beach property, which doesn't have as easy direct beach access that the Wedge enjoys and everyone thought any purchase would allow installation of a pool within the envisaged compound.

Perhaps Coffey's grand plans are being saved for his sprawling Ardfin estate (pictured above and below) in the Hebridean Island of Jura, Scotland, which was listed with a £3.5 million asking price when sold in 2010.
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The 11,595-acre (4,692-hectare) estate is situated at the southern tip of the Atlantic fringe island. It includes the 16-bedroom C-listed Jura House and renowned walled gardens (pictured above), which, benefitting from a southerly aspect and the effects of the Gulf Stream, are home to exotic specimen plants from Australiasia. They'd been open to tourists, estimated at 2,500 annually, but closed since his 2010 purchase.

Believed to have only visited the island twice since acquisition, Coffey has now commissioned architect Bob Harrison to undertake the design of an 18-hole golf course (pictured above and below), along with renovating other properties with the likely aim of encouraging well-heeled tourists who'd like to combine a round of golf with the island's other major attrraction, red deer stalking.

The population of the island is a mere 183 people, making it the least populated area in Europe, based on a 2005 population survey. The island's top employer is the whisky distillery, so tourism is its mainstay, including the holiday rental cottage at Barnhill where George Orwell wrote his famous novel 1984 between 1946 and 1948. Prime Minister David Cameron is a regular visitor as his wife Samantha's stepfather, Viscount Astor, owns a 20,000-acre estate on the island.

There's been a little online chatter against the golf course, although an island blogger has suggested the golf project was believed to have the support of the vast majority of Jura residents following consultation with planning consent from the Argyll and Bute district council tipped for later in the year.
Bob Harrison has said the site was "the most beautiful I have ever seen. Nothing I’ve seen anywhere in the world competes with the sheer beauty of the Jura site. I love Scotland in general and, by a pleasant coincidence, had been a devoted fan of the Machrie course on nearby Islay for many years. Jura has become my favourite place on earth.”
"After nearly 20 years in the financial markets I’ve decided to leave the industry," Coffey wrote last week on his retirement.
"The demands of my growing family mean that I am unable to commit to the market with the same intensity going forward.
"I plan on seeing much more of my wife and children and spending time in my home country, Australia."
Moore Capital Management is run by American billionaire industry pioneer Louis Bacon.
He reportedly averaged annual return to investors of 22%. Coffey was ranked the 11th-wealthiest hedge-fund manager in Britain, with an estimated net worth of £260 million pounds ($402 million), London's Sunday Times reported in April. The Australian BRW magazine Young Rich tallied his fortune at $665 million earlier this year.
A spokesperson for Coffey has advised residents that the gardens at Ardfin House were being renovated adding: "It is Greg's full intention that once all the renovation works are completed, which is probably going to be at the end of the year, Greg will look to re-open the gardens next year at some point."
And so who did buy the Wedge at Whale Beach?
Title Tattle would suggest it's been bought by someone whose fortune has stemmed from the mining services industry. No name yet, as Title Tattle drills a bit deeper. And those who missed out can bid for another offering two doors along which has been listed through Glenn Lee with $10 million plus hopes.