When Jack Eden lost his job in the Asian financial crisis, Sri Lanka called and he never looked back
- He explains how he went from Hong Kong banker to pioneering holiday villa entrepreneur, and in the process restored his own Galle Fort colonial home
- Eden Villas was founded in 2000 to project manage renovations and, once completed, manage and offer those properties for short-term holiday rentals
Saved by the prime minister: I was born in London, in 1966, but my family moved soon after to Wiltshire, in southwest England. Life growing up was a “boy’s own” adventure, mostly spent outdoors; fun, happy and free, punctured with periods of confinement at boarding school. Anthony Eden (British prime minister from 1955 to 1957) was my great uncle; my grandfather’s younger brother. Two of their brothers were killed in World War I.
AE (Anthony Eden) was always immaculately attired, extremely charming and kind. He saved my life by pulling me out of his fish pond, which I toppled into as a three-year-old. My maternal grandfather, Sir John Pascoe, knighted in 1957 for services to industry, was one of the first to recognise the importance of mental health, devoting 70 acres at his factory in Northamptonshire for his employees’ pleasure and sport. One of his relations was Jane Pascoe, who, as a suffragette, was jailed for fighting for women’s right to vote in the UK.
New life, new wife: I had visited Hong Kong when my sister lived there and always wanted to return. The opportunity arose in 1990. I had completed a short service commission in the Household Division, the Life Guards (the part of the British Army responsible for state ceremonial and public duties), and so was looking for employment. I packed a bag and went. I met Jo, my wife, within six hours of arriving. I knew one person in Hong Kong and stayed with him. On arriving from the airport, he advised we were going out to a drinks party, where I met Jo. I proposed 13 days later.
After the Romanesque, Gothic, Palladian and Baroque architecture of London, Hong Kong was a city of cloud-piercing glass towers. It was new, daring and exciting. Anything was possible. Life was fast and there was an overriding urgency. But although everything – work, sport, socialising – was done to the max, everyone, from a CEO down, would give you some of their time. This created opportunity and Hong Kong was full of them.
Serendipity: In 1998, we went to Sri Lanka for a holiday and what we found was the antithesis to Hong Kong. She was, and still is, a lush tropical paradise. We relaxed, slowed down and were enthralled. Our small children took their first tentative steps on grass. The pause allowed some reflection on how we wanted to live. We talked endlessly about living there.
The years 1997-98 saw the Asian financial crisis. The day I arrived back at work for (private bank) Coutts, in Hong Kong, I was advised that the desk I worked on was to close. I left that day. Four weeks later we were arriving back in Sri Lanka with our two children, Maddie and Nico, and Oscar, our three-legged dog.
Falling for the fort: Walking into Galle Fort for the first time was like pulling back the curtains, from the audience side, and entering onto the stage. The amazing set was all there, but no one had tidied it up or put it together. It was all so natural, raw and beautiful. It’s rare to find such an impressive historical place pre-makeover and we felt incredibly fortunate.
Using the redundancy money from Coutts we purchased a property in Galle Fort in 1999. Jo is a designer and had immediately fallen for it. Like a lot of the fort at that time, the bones were beautiful but it had fallen into considerable disrepair. The Dutch built houses with open courtyards while the more recent inhabitants closed them up. There was no air and it was falling down in places. These days, the historical and architectural value of the fort is recognised and highly protected but then, even though it was declared a World Heritage Site in 1988, no one cared that much.
We were enthralled by it purely because of the history (the Portuguese built the original fort in the 16th century and the Dutch developed it in the 17th century) and so wanted to restore the house to its original appearance as much as possible. To do that required a complete restoration. When we moved in there was an American, who lived in the fort on his own. There were no other foreigners and everyone told us we were the first (foreign) family. Our children were six and one-year old. We still live in Galle – although we shifted around the corner a few years ago – and some of our closest friends are from those early days.
The Eden brand: We launched Eden Villas in 2000 to fill a gap, helping others project manage renovations in accordance with local regulations and, once completed, manage the properties, offering them for short-term holiday rentals. The business grew and over the years we’ve honed our service. We still look after people’s holidays, introducing them to the beautiful countryside, glorious beaches, enticing food, challenging surf, ancient sites and ayurvedic lifestyle that Sri Lanka has to offer.
Coping in the Covid era: The past 12 months have been an opportunity for reflection, building on all the things that are important and shedding those that aren’t. We’ve never felt “trapped” anywhere and consider ourselves very fortunate to be in Sri Lanka. It’s possible to see elephants and blue whales in their natural habitat on the same day here. How could you not find such a place utterly compelling?
As for the virus itself, we’ll learn to live with it. There have been many other global events that will be more challenging in the long term. In terms of travel, we’ll all continue to seek it out and it’s heartening to see the pragmatic and well-planned reopening of Sri Lanka. At Eden Villas we’ve made all the necessary adjustments to our properties and have adapted our service to cater to those who are able to remote work. My family will continue to learn and grow, and never look back.
