Dundee tycoon leaves £6.6m fortune

A Dundonian property tycoon who left school at 14 years old has died leaving a £6.6 million fortune.

Bill Sword launched his business career selling snacks to Dundee United fans at Tannadice Park and students.

Swordy’s Snacks, which operated a hut at Tannadice, operated for more than 20 years.

Mr Sword and his wife Betty used their savings of £21 to set up a cafe and sold treats to students in the City of Discovery where he was born and raised.

M. & E. Sword was founded in 1949 when he opened a tea bar in the then Dundee Technical College (now Abertay University).

Building on the business, the pair began renting properties to their student customers who had complained of their difficulties in finding accommodation in the city as they studied.

The couple’s business interests grew and they developed a multi-million pound property portfolio that included a number of large hotels including the Westerwood Hotel in Cumbernauld.

Mr Sword also served for many years as a justice of the peace and as an honorary sheriff.

He died in August last year aged 86 and his published will has revealed he amassed a £6,621,934 fortune.

Mr Sword ordered the bulk of his wealth to be shared among his five children and the WM Charitable Trust, a body that he founded to help people from poor backgrounds.