Missing Mike Lynch returned to Suffolk farm before Sicily yacht sinking 

Mike Lynch, who is among six people still missing after a yacht capsized off Sicily, had recently returned to live at his Suffolk farm following a 12-year legal battle.

The 56m superyacht had 22 people on board, including 10 crew, when it sank following bad weather. 

Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, was among 15 people rescued but the businessman and his daughter are still missing, reports say.

Known as the UK’s answer to Bill Gates, Lynch made his riches selling his tech firm Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.

He had been acquitted in the US in June this year over multiple fraud charges – following a long legal battle – and had returned to his farm in Suffolk.

The 2,500-acre farm near Wickham Market is an arable enterprise but he also keeps rare breed livestock including around 60 red poll cattle, Suffolk sheep and Gloucestershire old spot pigs, the East Anglian Daily Times reports.

Tales from the countryside

He returned home as soon as he could following his acquittal in the US, telling EADT: “It was one of those lovely English grey days. 

“I finally made it home and made it up into Suffolk and that was finally the end of the journey, so that was brilliant.”

After his extradition his Suffolk friends had regaled him with tales of the countryside. “The one thing you find you want to hear about is the most simple things from home. 

“I just wanted to hear ‘the river is flooded today’ or ‘the electricity went off’ or ‘someone’s cow escaped’ – all those things that bring you back to the real world.

“I was lucky enough to get back to Suffolk in June. It has been a total delight to be back.

“The lovely thing I find about Suffolk is there is still a real sense of community there. You get to know lots of people doing all sorts of things.”

Lynch has lived in Suffolk for the past 34 years and moved to the farm in 2009.

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