He’s a well-known figure
Sir Tim Smit, the co-founder of the Eden project
Sir Tim Smith, the co-founder of Eden, is a well-known figure in Cornwall, having created Heligan, owned Charlestown and recently caused a stir with several attempts to redevelop a golf course. But how did this Dutch-born British businessman amass his fortune?
Smith gained prominence in Cornwall for his work on the Lost Gardens of Heligan and the Eden Project. At 63-years-old, he later purchased the 23-acre Georgian port of Charlestown, which has been used as a filming location for Poldark among other films and TV shows.
This acquisition was added to The Shipwreck and Heritage Centre, located in the village near St Austell, which he acquired in 2016.
However, Smith revealed in 2011 that his journey to success wasn’t always smooth sailing. In fact, when he was starting out, he relied on state benefits until he ‘got lucky’, as he puts it.
Charlestown is situated approximately five miles from The Lost Gardens of Heligan, which influenced the purchase of the shipwreck museum.
The sale price for the port, which includes the inner and outer harbour, adjoining beaches, two shops, roads, workshops and historic sailing ships, was never disclosed, reports Cornwall Live.
Jeremy Beech, a partner in SBC Property, specialist commercial property advisors based in Truro, stated at the time of the Charlestown deal that it came about after an approach by Sir Tim to the then owner, Shane McCarthy. “It had not been for sale or marketed, but we had an approach from Tim Smit and a deal has been agreed,” said Beech.
He added: “It is now in the hands of lawyers. I am confident the deal will go through.”
He no longer holds ownership of the port, which is currently under the stewardship of businessman Rolf Munding and has recently undergone a £2 million refurbishment to modernise the historic harbour. The 21st-century upgrade was finalised earlier this month.
Sir Tim Smit
So, what has he bought in Cornwall?
The co-founder of Eden relocated to Cornwall in 1987 – he bought his home in Fowey after noticing the farm for sale in an estate agent’s window whilst on holiday in the county.
He made a deal with his family that if they could sell their previous Brixton home within 48 hours, they would relocate to the South West.
In a chat with The Telegraph, Smit spoke about “doing up our old farm” during the 1990s.
He later ‘discovered’ and renovated the Lost Gardens of Heligan, which fell into disrepair following the outbreak of WW1 as its workforce left to serve in the trenches; tragically, many never returned.
The Lost Gardens of Heligan’s website reveals: “After decades of neglect, the devastating hurricane of 1990 should have consigned the now lost gardens to a footnote in history.
“Instead, events conspired to bring us here and the romance of their decay took a hold on our imaginations.
“Our discovery of a tiny room, buried under fallen masonry in the corner of one of the walled gardens, was to unlock the secret of their demise.
“A motto etched into the limestone walls in barely legible pencil still reads “Don’t come here to sleep or slumber”, with the names of those who worked there signed under the date – August 1914.
“We were fired by a magnificent obsession to bring these once glorious gardens back to life in every sense and to tell, for the first time, not tales of lords and ladies but of those “ordinary” people who had made these gardens great, before departing for the Great War.”
In 1995, Smit discovered a functioning china clay pit nearing the end of its economic viability, which would later transform into the Eden Project.
The renowned landmark opened its doors in March 2001, and by June, it had already welcomed over one million visitors.
When the acquisition of the shipwreck museum – listed for £1.35million – was announced in November 2016, Sir Tim revealed that the attraction was his initial destination when he arrived in Cornwall.
As a wreck diver and archaeologist – his field of study at university – he confessed that he “never thought twice” upon learning that the museum was up for grabs.
The pairing of Heligan and Charlestown was a good match, according to George Elworthy, the managing director of the gardens company, as the shipwreck centre deal was finalised.
“We believe our experience at Heligan gives us a unique understanding of how to tell a story of great power and a heritage that haunts the imagination,” he stated.
In 2015, Smit became the proud new owner of Lostwithiel’s golf course.
After nearly a year of negotiations, Sir Tim purchased the land for an undisclosed sum.
The previous owner, Michael Davey, had shut down the club almost ten years prior, citing financial unviability.
Sir Tim previously expressed that he believed a radical approach was necessary to save the course and create jobs. He was exploring the possibility of a low-impact eco-development as a means to secure a sustainable future for the club and its hotel.
However, his various plans for the site have met with significant opposition. Most recently, his latest proposal was rejected on the grounds that the proposed holiday ‘domes’ would negatively impact the area.
It was recently ruled that ‘the harm would outweigh the benefits’ of his bid to construct ‘drums’ for holiday accommodation and a car park near valued historical sites. This has become one of Cornwall’s most contentious planning disputes ever.
So how did Sir Tim Smit amass his fortune?
The father of four studied archaeology and anthropology at Durham University.
He then spent a decade in the music industry, working as a composer/producer in both rock music and opera. The royalties from a song he wrote later allowed him to purchase a truck while working on his next venture.
After relocating to Cornwall in 1987, he ‘discovered’ and restored the Lost Gardens of Heligan, which is now one of our most popular tourist attractions.
The Eden Project began as a dream in 1995 and opened to the public in 2000. Since then, over 19 million people have visited what was once a barren pit.
It will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2026.
In a 2011 interview with the Financial Times, Smit confessed: “In the music industry, I managed to blow the money quickly enough never to hit £1m. I am not fabulously rich. I guess I became a millionaire at 43, in terms of the increasing value of my home and business, when I did the Lost Gardens of Heligan.”
He went on to say: “While I was successful in my music career I suffered from a huge creative arrogance. When I did well, I thought I would always do well. I started off on the dole earning £26.80 a week in 1978. Then I got lucky with a lady called Louise Tucker. We were making hundreds of thousands of pounds but we spent everything on a flash recording studio and new artists rather than taking a safer route, to produce already well-known artists.
“Money was never that important to me, but the experience taught me to never ever take good things for granted. You should savour them. The real loss was all the jobs and records we did not make for other people because we were too grand.”
