Jeffrey Archer - still making millions

Lord Archer is continuing to rake in the millions from his business interests while in jail.

The disgraced former Tory deputy chairman and novelist - or, to give him his new title, prisoner FF8282 - is serving four years for perjury. But that has not stopped him adding to his estimated fortune of £60million.

An investigation by the Evening Standard into his entry in the new register of interests for members of the House of Lords has established that Archer has ways of making money beyond writing books. They include a second-hand car company, art dealerships, a firm that runs a golf centre and properties in Majorca and around Britain.

It is a remarkable turn-around for the author, whose business career to date has been notable for spectacular failure. In 1974, Archer was forced to resign as an MP after going bankrupt with debts of £400,000. In 1994, he was the victim of a £375,000 swindle when he attempted to break into the international market in bank certificates.

Not all his investments went sour, however. In early 1996, he invested £200,000 to own a third of the Ray Allen Group, which was set up to market themed children's clothes to high-street retailers. After initial failure, the company bought licensing rights to market Teletubbies clothing and two years later Archer earned about £2 million.

Today, though, he can rest easy in his cell - confident that his investments, especially in property, are raking in the cash.

One property source told the Evening Standard that Archer - who, as a "trusted prisoner", works as a medical orderly at North Sea Camp prison in Lincolnshire - is reckoned within the trade to earn £7million a year from investing in enterprise parks dotted round the country.

He also owns part of a holiday complex in Majorca, through a company called Winner Land.

The enterprise parks in Britain, built on mostly derelict industrial land, have proved a fantastic money-spinner for the voluble peer.

He receives the rent from sites in London, Tyne & Wear, North Shields, Telford and Workington.

The park at Workington, in Cumbria, is typical.

Archer bought 47,000sqft of reclaimed land on the outskirts of the town in November 1996. It is not known how much he paid but, at the time, he bragged to colleagues it was one of 10 to 15 similar developments he owned in the UK.

Today, the Derwent Howe retail park at Workington is booming and prosperous, counting McDonald's and other well-known brands among the tenants. Most have a 25-year-lease.

Archer knows a good deal when he sees one: during his expensive legal battles, he has reaffirmed his intention of hanging on to his property portfolio.

He owns two art dealerships, Artdeal and Andartis. The larger of the pair, Artdeal, was founded in 1997 and is based in Kingsway in central London. Latest figures at Companies House show Artdeal has assets of £641,000 for the year ended 31 January 2001, down from £1.1million previously. He set up Andartis with his son, William. Of the firm's 600 shares, Archer owns 510 shares while William holds 90.

Andartis has been suffering, too. Its net assets have dropped by more than half in the past two years to £562,846.

The downturn in his art dealing probably reflects the multi-million-pound setback he suffered with his Gwyther gallery. Based in Bruton Street, the gallery opened in London in 1997 to sell his Andy Warhol collection but ran up debts of £2.5million. Two years later, he sold 90 Warhols through Christie's and raised £600,000.

In July 1999, Archer ploughed some of his cash into One Stop Car Shop, an internet service designed to help would-be buyers find the cheapest used cars on the market. He invested £40,000 after meeting the founder, Hugo Mackenzie-Smith, and almost immediately saw a huge gain. Within months, the share price had risen 280 per cent from £1 to £3.80.

Archer remains one of the largest backers of One Stop, with 74,000 shares. Latest figures show the company making a profit of £88,000 on sales of £1.8million.

The company originally intended to open a chain of branches to supplement the internet service. But the first of these, in Chiswick, closed a few months ago, with the company blaming too much business for the outlet to cope with.

Today, One Stop has retrenched, concentrating on working for motor insurers. The firm, which has 20 employees, counts other well-known names on its share register, including David Ross, the Carphone Warehouse founder. "It's not particularly profitable," said a senior One Stop insider. "It's still finding its way through the market."

Seemingly, as ever with Archer, nothing is straightforward. In the House of Lords register of interests, Archer lists a major shareholding in Corporate Dynamics, described as a company investing in a golf centre operating firm.

The only company of that name in Britain found by the Evening Standard denied any connection with Archer.

Corporate Dynamics is a communications company founded some years ago by City public relations high-flier Justin Downes, who said of Archer's entry:"He's a cheeky b****r ... They've no right to use that name."

A former member of Archer's staff said he had never heard of a company of that name.

In March 2000, Archer was talking to close friend Stephen Komlosy and his wife Patti Boulaye, the singer. The couple had known Archer for years, through their support of the Tory Party, and Mr Komlosy convinced Archer to pump £100,000 into his company, London & Boston Investments - then floating on the stock market with a value of £3.1million.

Mr Komlosy is the sort of entrepreneur who can turn his hand to anything, having bought and sold property companies and developed hi-tech products. He has also made his name in entertainment - as a founder director of the Robert Stigwood Organisation and manager of Lionel Bart, writer of Oliver! the smash hit film.

These days Mr Komlosy also doubles as his wife's manager.

London & Boston's rise has been rapid. Two years ago, Mr Komlosy bought the shell of a company called Cybertec Holdings. He changed the name to London & Boston Investments and set it up as a general investment group. Today it is worth around £7million, meaning that Archer has seen his stake more than double in value in just over a year.

According to company records, one of London & Boston's primary investments is in Avatar Systems, a highly profitable Texas-based oil industry software company. The group also has an 18.69 per cent stake in Croma, which specialises in the design and development of hi-tech surveillance equipment for military and civil use.

London & Boston also holds 15 per cent of Harrell Hospitality Group in London and Dallas, which manages luxury hotels.

London & Boston has also made a killing in property. Last month it sold a Bristol office block that it was converting into apartments. Mr Komlosy's company paid £450,000 for the site and has sold it for £700,000.

Aspokesman for London & Boston said: "Both Stephen and Patti know Lord Archer well and asked him to invest."

The spokesman added thatthe Komlosys were in contact with Archer, saying:"Stephen is happy to say he regards him [Archer] as a friend."

Archer has written a new book in jail and is preparing to appeal against his sentence. In the meantime, the money keeps pouring in.