Super rich returning to London property market

Upmarket agent Beauchamp Estates has hailed the return of wealthy buyers to London after selling the home of two former Lebanon Prime Ministers in what is believed to be one of the largest deals of the year.

The £19.75m 6,504 sq ft five-bedroom London residence of the billionaire Hariri family in Cadogan Gardens in Knightsbridge, has been sold to an ultra-high-net-worth Lebanese buyer who wanted a super-luxury residence for his family in the capital.

The billionaire Hariri family – of whom Rafic Hariri and son Saad Hariri have both served as Prime Ministers of Lebanon - are one of the wealthiest families in the Middle East.

Gary Hersham, founding director of Beauchamp Estates, said: “Beauchamp Estates has sold this extremely refined London home of the Hariri family to an ultra-high-net-worth Lebanese businessman who wanted a super-luxury London home for his children to live in. London is the international capital of the world and Knightsbridge, on the doorstep of Harrods, is the place to be in the capital.

“London’s super rich buyer market has continued to be extremely buoyant during the course of the first six months of 2022. 

“We have seen a flurry of deals for London properties priced over £15m.

“Earlier in the year many buyers were UK-based, but as international flights resume we are seeing the return of wealthy international buyers as this latest Knightsbridge deal in Cadogan Gardens underlines.”

Jeremy Gee, managing director of Beauchamp Estates, said the removal of coronavirus travel restrictions means the traditional neighbourhoods of the super-rich are once again the locations for the majority of top end deals.

He said: “Since the start of 2022 there have been a wave of deals for Prime London homes priced above £10m with the lion’s share of deals done in the £15m to £25m price bracket. 

“This year, especially as international buyers have started to return to the capital, the top five locations for super-prime deals are Knightsbridge, St John’s Wood, Kensington, Belgravia and Chelsea.

“Prime Central London’s super-prime housing market for multi-millionaire and billionaire buyers doubled in size during 2021, over a two year period there were 49 sales for luxury properties priced over £15 million with 32 sales in 2021 compared to 17 sales in 2020. 

“This is being driven by the huge accumulation of wealth that billionaires have enjoyed over the last two years and the availability of highly advantageous interest-only ‘billionaire mortgages’ which is driving the current buying spree of luxury homes in the UK capital.”