Trapped tycoon was texting son, then he was shot

Andreas Liveras, estimated to be worth £315 million and the owner of some of the world's most expensive yachts, died from multiple gunshot wounds. A friend of the family told today how Mr Liveras, 73, had been in contact with his son Dion before being shot at the Taj Mahal Hotel.

"He was having his meal when the terrorists started shooting. Hotel staff moved him into another room and from there he was texting his son and Dion was texting him," said Michael Yiakoumi, editor of a who's who for Greek Cypriots in the UK. "They were messaging each other and then it all just stopped."

A family spokesman said at their home outside Potters Bar: "It is a really tough time for the family. They are finding it hard to cope. What happened to Andreas is only just sinking in."

Tributes for Mr Liveras were led today by Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the Greek-Cypriot millionaire and founder of EasyJet, who said: "I would offer my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Andreas. It must be devastating to lose a loved one in this brutal way. Andreas was a kind man and a great entrepreneur. We will all miss him." The story of Mr Liveras' rise from humble origins to become one of Britain's most successful businessman is testimony to his determination and energy. He grew up in a small village outside the Greek Cypriot capital Nicosia and by his mid-twenties had put into place a plan to make his fortune.

He claimed to have brought the first combine harvester to the island, hoping to hire it and himself out to neighbouring farms. All went well for two years until disaster struck. In an interview Mr Liveras recalled: "The brakes went. I was up on the hill and coming down... My brother was in the back and I said to Gregory 'Jump!... and I jumped and then he jumped and we just grabbed some bushes. There was a very high drop, some 300 metres down and the tractor is still there now, a mass of iron." Struggling for money as the combine harvester was not insured, Mr Liveras came to London in 1963, taking a job as a deliveryman with the tiny Fleur de Lys Patisseries in Kensington.

Three years later, he bought the business for £2,500. "We didn't even bother with a contract," Mr Liveras once said, "Every Saturday I would send an envelope with postal orders for £10, £20 or even £30 until he was paid in full."

Within three years, the company had moved from its Kensington basement with six staff to a factory in Newark, Nottinghamshire, employing 450 people. It had by then branched out from Danish pastries and the like to introducing such luxuries as Black Forest gateau to the British public. In 1985, Mr Liveras sold Fleur de Lys to Express Dairies for around £40 million. The company was one of the biggest suppliers of cakes in Europe, employing 1,200 staff.

Aged 50, he had retired but found himself restless, despite the joys of owning his first yacht. "Retirement was the worst year of my life. I was so bored that I was up at five washing the boat and waking the crew," he admitted a few years later.

Indulging his growing passion for yachts, he launched Liveras Yachts, based in Monaco. He would go on to buy vessels, renovate them and sell them on for huge profits.

In the meantime, the Liveras family - led by Dion but with his father's help - was back in the "quality gateaux market" launching Laurens patisseries in 1992. It too was hugely successful and in 2006, they had sold out to the Icelandic group Bakkavor in a £130 million deal.

Mr Liveras's wife Anna, also from Cyrpus, died only last year. He is survived by his son and three daughters Mary, Sophia and Krita. When he was killed he was in Mumbai on yachting business.