Euan Blair’s mother, not his wife, is partner in marital home

With a price tag of £3.6 million, six bedrooms and a prime location in west London, Euan Blair’s new marital home has everything that his bride could dream of. Except, perhaps, that it comes with her mother-in-law as joint owner.

Land Registry documents show that the Georgian town house in Marylebone is jointly owned by Cherie Blair and Euan Blair, with no mention at all of his wife, Suzanne, on the title deeds.

Cherie was also joint owner of the previous home of her and Tony Blair’s eldest son, which has been sold for a profit of £860,000. It suggests that Cherie Blair retains control of Euan’s purse strings, as she does for her other children with whom she jointly owns properties.

David Kirwan, of Kirwans Solicitors, said the fact that Suzanne Blair was not a registered owner of the property would make it much harder for her to claim a share of its value if the couple’s marriage ended in divorce. “She would face an uphill task if the marriage ended, particularly if they hadn’t been married for long,” he said.

“As a wife she would have some claim on the property, but it would be a much more litigious matter than if she was registered as joint owner, when there would be a presumption of a 50/50 split.

“It looks very much like a case of Tony and Cherie Blair managing their empire of assets.”

^{Cherie and Tony Blair at Euan and Suzanne's wedding last September}

Last September another of the Blairs’ homes, in Buckinghamshire, was the setting for the wedding reception of Euan and Suzanne, who is the daughter of Jonathan Ashman, a motor racing entrepreneur, and stepdaughter of the television weather presenter Sian Lloyd.

At the time the couple were living in another town house in Marylebone, which Cherie and Euan bought for £1.29 million in 2010. In 2012, neighbours complained that the basement of the house was being used as a separate flat without planning permission, prompting an investigation by the local council which was called off after denials from the former prime minister’s son.

Now, less than four years after the Blairs bought it, the four-storey property has been sold for £2.15 million. It means that Euan, 30, made £18,695 profit for every month he owned the house.

He and his mother paid £3,625,000 for the six-bedroom property a short walk from the previous home.

Mrs Blair is said never to have forgotten losing out on a £1 million windfall when the Blairs sold their old home in Islington for £615,000 to move into Downing Street, only to see the property resold seven years later for £1.6  million.

Since then she has remained busy in the property market, and now has interests in eight properties with a total value of around £24 million.

Euan worked for the investment bank Morgan Stanley until last year, when he left to take up a managerial post at Sarina Russo Job Access, a Coventry-based recruitment agency which is involved in the Government’s Work Programme.

The move was widely interpreted as a launch pad for Euan to run for political office, though Labour has already selected its candidate for the Coventry North East seat, his rumoured target, meaning that he will have to wait until 2020 for any chance of becoming an MP in the area.

The Blair property empire

2002: Two flats in Bristol bought for £265,000 each with the help of the con man Peter Foster, one for Euanand one to rent out. One since sold. Current value: £280,000.

2004: Five-storey Grade II-listed Georgian town house bought for £3.65 million in west London as family home. Current value: £7.3 million.

2007: Mews house behind London home bought for £800,000, now linked to main house to extend living and office space. Current value: £1.5 million.

2008: Grade I-listed manor house in Bucks, previously owned by Sir John Gielgud, bought for £5.75 million. Current value: £8 million.

2010: Georgian town house in Marylebone, central London, bought for Euan Blair for £1.29 million. Sold this month for £2.15 million. Three-bedroom maisonette in central London bought for £975,000 for Kathryn Blair. Current value: £1.5 million.

2012: Georgian town house in central London bought for £1.35 million for Nicky Blair. Current value: £1.5 million.

2013: Cottage in Bucks for Mr Blair’s sister, Sarah, bought for £600,000. Current value: unchanged.

2013: Georgian town house in Marylebone bought by Cherie and Euan Blair for £3.62 million. Current value: unchanged.