Billionaires’ Row properties handed to the bank

The property market in London is always subject to external influences – and recently this has become the case with six luxury apartments in Knightsbridge. The properties are known as Billionaires’ Row, and they have recently been put up for sale. 

Receivers have been instructed to sell the properties, comprising six apartments valued at £2.6m to £7.25m each and with a collective figure estimated at £30m. They are situated on Bishop’s Avenue and near Hyde Park in Hampstead, and given the soaring prices of London’s residential property market (up 60% from 2009), it’s not a bad time for Deutsche Bank – who recently took control of the properties – to sell. 

So what happened? Deutsche Bank had taken the owners to court, the owners being former Pakistani minister Waqar Ahmed Khan, his father Gulzar Khan, and companies set up by them. The family had used £55m-worth of loans to purchase the apartments and the bank had been seeking early repayment of the sum. The Khans lost the case at court and so the German bank has taken control with the intention of selling them to recoup its funds. 

Interest is sure to be high as to who buys the properties and for how much. A statement by the appointed receivers, Eddisons Commercial Ltd, indicates that there is also planning permission in place for the site, for a 46,000-square-foot residential property. 

The title Billionaires’ Row arises as the street is considered one of the most expensive in the world. However, this case shows that even such areas are not immune to complications in finance. 

This news was brought to you by Morgan Pryce, a specialist tenant acquisition agent with offices in Oxford Circus and the City. Morgan Pryce specialises in search, negotiation and project management and works exclusively for tenants.