Rio Ferdinand invests in Turks and Caicos

England footballer Rio Ferdinand has splashed out £990,000 on a villa in the Turks and Caicos Islands to add to his already considerable property portfolio.

Ferdinand's father, Julian, is originally from St Lucia, and the Manchester United defender says he has been looking to invest in the Caribbean for some time.

He has invested in the Caicos Beach Club, a 185-acre luxury development due for completion in 2010, on South Caicos - an eight square mile island with a population of 1,500 in the Turks and Caicos, a British territory.

Six apartment blocks are complete and four are being built. Ferdinand has invested in a four-bedroom, three-bathroom seafront villa with private pool, plus two one-bedroom apartments.

He already owns homes in Morocco, Croatia and Cheshire, plus buy-to-lets in London's Elephant and Castle and Deptford. In fact, Ferdinand, 29, is considering going into property management at the end of his playing career.

Fellow footballers John Terry, of Chelsea, Manchester United colleague Gary Neville and ex-Millwall player Jamie Moralee are also investing in property abroad.

The Caicos Beach Club will have a 70,000sq ft clubhouse, a casino, spa and marina. Eighty-three other villas are planned alongside Ferdinand's, all with 360-degree views of the ocean.

'The Caicos Beach Club ticked all the boxes for me: it's a family resort with everything for the sports enthusiast, including some of the best diving in the world,' says Ferdinand, who has a 19-month-old son, Lorenz, with his fiancée, Rebecca Ellison.

Travelling to the island will improve when a new airport terminal opens later this year and with it the start of direct flights from London.

According to Steve McMahon, director of Clearview International, there are many reasons to buy in the Turks and Caicos. 'There are no income taxes, property taxes, capital gains taxes or inheritance tax for residents or non-residents alike. And property prices have shown annual increases of 10 to 20 per cent over the last 10 years,' he said.

Ferdinand and Terry are planning a football academy on the island which is expected to add to the attractions.

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