Vaccine baron Adar Poonawalla has made a splash in the London real estate market by purchasing a mansion at Mayfair for £138 million (Rs 1,446 crore) — the most expensive home sale in the British capital this calendar year.
The purchase of the century-old Aberconway House near Hyde Park by the CEO of Serum Institute of India is also the second costliest transaction in London.
The sale of 2-8a Rutland Gate for £210 million holds the record. While it was initially believed that Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz was the buyer, a newspaper report in 2022 claimed that Hui Ka Yan, the founder and chairman of Evergrade, was its owner.
While there were no comments from SII, a Financial Times report said the house was sold by Dominika Kulczyk, daughter of late businessman Jan Kulczyk, Poland’s richest man. It will be acquired by Serum Life Sciences, the UK arm of SII.
Quoting sources, the report added that the Poonawalla family had “no plans” to move to the UK permanently, and that “the house will serve as a base for the company and family when they are in the UK”.
This is not the first time that Indian billionaires are making waves in the London property market.
In July this year, the family office of Ravi Ruia — co-owner of the Essar group — acquired the sprawling “Hanover Lodge’’ mansion for £113 million.
It was originally designed by British architect John Nash around 1827 and is located on the outer circle of Regent’s Park. Reportedly, the mansion was earlier linked to Russian property investor Andrey Goncharenko.
In 2021, Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd, bought Stoke Park, in Buckinghamshire, UK. The iconic country club and luxury golf resort — made famous by the James Bond movie Goldfinger — went for £57 million, or Rs 592 crore.
RIL has entered into an understanding with Oberoi Hotels and Resorts (Oberoi) to manage the three properties that included Stoke Park jointly.
Earlier, the Hindujas had acquired former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s Old War Office (OWO) building in Central London in late 2014.
Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja had bought the 580,000 square-foot landmark with Spanish company Obrascon Huarte Lain Desarrollos (OHLD). The heritage building was sold on a 250-year lease arrangement to the companies for an undisclosed sum following.
The Hindujas has turned the building into a luxury hotel, The OWO, in collaboration with Raffles Hotels & Resorts. The OWO Residences includes 85 homes, from studios and one-bedroom apartments to five-bedroom residences, with a two-bed apartment priced at around £5.8 million.
