3 days ago
Arab businesswoman sells Knightsbridge mansion for £28m
A Kuwaiti property tycoon has sold a £28m Knightsbridge mansion in what is thought to be the biggest London home sale so far this year.
Fawziah Mubarak Al-Hassawi sold the 11-bedroom Princes Gate town-house overlooking Hyde Park to a Middle Eastern property billionaire, The Telegraph understands.
The mansion last changed hands for £32.5m in 2019, according to public documents, and sold below its £30m asking price in the latest transaction.
It comes amid a difficult period for the London property market, particularly at the top. Eighty-two per cent of prime London houses sold below their asking prices during the first three months of this year, according to Coutts.
Stuart Bailey, at Knight Frank, which advised on the sale, said: 'London is good value, and international buyers, especially those that are property-savvy, are well aware and doing deals. This shows the mid to long-term security of London real estate thankfully beats short-term politicians every time.'
The sale of Princes Gate is seen as a benchmark-setting deal for the top end of the market and may help to unlock other sales.
The property features a large swimming pool, vaults, an industrial kitchen and two lifts. Measuring 16,000 sq ft, the town-house is located close to Harrods and the museums of South Kensington.
Built in the late 1840s, the mansion was initially occupied by a railway developer followed by a succession of wealthy bankers and their families from the 1850s to 1941. Those included Robert Cooper Lee Bevan, who was influential in the development of Barclays Bank in the 19th century.
Between 1949 and 1987, the house was the headquarters of the Royal School of Needlework, before it was refurbished as a single residence in the mid-1990s.
Roly Ingleby-MacKenzie, head of Knightsbridge sales at Knight Frank, said: 'Given the turbulence in the market over the past 12 months, it is fantastic to see confidence returning, with buyers recognising London as a prime investment opportunity, especially at the top end.'
Ms Al Hassawi is the daughter of the late Mubarak Al Hassawi, a Middle Eastern tycoon thought to be the first Kuwaiti national to build commercial and residential complexes in the country, taking advantage of a property boom in the 1950s.
After he died in 2005, Ms Al Hassawi set up the Fawziah Mubarak Al Hassawi Group (FMH Group), which oversees £800m of developments in the UK, Germany and Spain.
Al Mubarakia, its European arm, also owns and manages £300m-worth of properties around the world. This includes a 16th century castle in Baden-Baden, Germany, which was previously home to the margraves of Baden and now being turned into a five-star Hyatt hotel.
Among the properties owned by Al Mubarakia in the UK is the historic Tobacco Dock in Wapping, east London.
Representatives for Al Mubarakia were contacted for comment.
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