Vera Weisfeld's Estate Includes Legacy for Charity Named After Missing Girl

Tycoon Vera Weisfeld, founder of the What Every Woman Wants retail chain, left a significant portion of her £6 million estate to charities, including a five-figure sum to the Moira Anderson Foundation, named after a schoolgirl who disappeared in her hometown.

Weisfeld passed away at the age of 87 in December of last year. Her husband, Gerald, died in 2020 after a battle with Alzheimer's disease. Legal documents reveal her estate was valued at £6,016,611. She bequeathed £100,000 to six family members and an equal sum to Alzheimer Scotland. Additionally, legacies estimated to be worth up to £60,000 were left to the Moira Anderson Foundation, Radio Clyde’s Cash for Kids, and Monklands Women’s Aid.

Moira Anderson disappeared at the age of 11 in 1957, a year when Weisfeld was 19. The schoolgirl has never been found. Alexander Gartshore, a convicted pedophile, was suspected of her murder. Prosecutors indicated that if he were still alive, he would have been charged.

The Moira Anderson Foundation was established in 2000 by Sandra Brown, Gartshore’s daughter, as a tribute to Moira and her family, providing support to children and adults affected by childhood sexual abuse. Moira vanished from her grandmother's house during a snowstorm. She had boarded a bus driven by Gartshore, who was later imprisoned for raping a babysitter.

In 2013, a police search explored the theory that Moira might have been buried in Monkland Cemetery, but an excavation yielded no remains. Four years later, a further search near Monkland Canal also failed to discover any. Brown stated that Weisfeld had been a supporter from the foundation's inception, generously covering their rent for the first three years until the organization became established. This endowment comes as the foundation prepares to mark the 70th anniversary of Moira’s disappearance on February 23.

Weisfeld, born in 1938, grew up in humble circumstances in Coatbridge. She and Gerald Weisfeld opened What Every Woman Wants in Glasgow in 1971, eventually expanding to a chain of 130 stores across the UK. Their mansion in Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire, valued at £2.5 million, was gifted to one of her granddaughters, along with personal belongings. Another granddaughter, based in America, is set to receive other items from Weisfeld's estate.

Weisfeld’s private registration plates V1 ERA and V1 VGW were valued at £10,500 and £1,500, respectively. Her total moveable estate in Scotland was valued at £3,265,686, with heritable estate totaling £2,750,000.

In 1990, the Weisfelds sold their business for £50 million, a record sum at the time for a Scottish fashion house. The couple also founded the Weisfeld Foundation, donating millions to various charitable causes throughout their lives.