BULGARIAN ENTERPRISE BUYS BRITTON HOUSE

It has been rumoured that Britton House Stud in
Somerset has been purchased by Bulgarian
businessman Grisha Gantchev, for a price believed to
be in excess of £2.5m. The stud had been bought in
1999 by Roger Baines, since when it has undergone
considerable redevelopment, and owned a small but
select band of broodmares, as well as being a boarding
facility of repute. In addition, the triple Melbourne Cup
heroine Makybe Diva was born there in 1998.
Britton House held a complete dispersal of their
breeding stock at Tattersalls last December, where the
highlights were the sale of the mares Mackie
(1,700,000gns to John Ferguson) and Carisolo
(1,000,000gns to Richard Frisby), a new December
Yearling Sale record-holder in the shape of a
700,000gns Dalakhani filly out of Solo de Lune, and
five foals achieving prices of up to 370,000gns.
Gantchev himself has been active at Tattersalls this
year, buying ten yearlings at the October Sale Book
One for a total of 874,000gns, in the same of Litex
Commerce. His acquisitions comprised a colt by
Montjeu and nine fillies, including two each by
Sadler’s Wells and Montjeu.
He was born in 1962 and is based in Lovech in
Bulgaria. He has achieved considerable success with
his Litex businesses, which started in in 1990. Soon
diversifying from its original main function of petrol
trading, Litex now has interests in transport and
shipping, petrol stations, wholesale and retail of fuel
and gas, travel, tourism and hotels, finance and property,
and is already a major breeder of horses in the Balkans.
Litex moved into the equestrian business in 2004 and
currently owns around 60 horses, including stallions
and broodmares. A number of young racehorses are in
training with Peter Schiergen in Germany and among
those running in the colours of Stall Litex is October’s
Gr.3 Preis der Winterkonigin third Briseida, a Pivotal
half-sister to Titus Livius.