Mittal eyes more property in London

Steel tycoon plans to buy other houses on Kensington Palace Gardens for his son

LONDON: Not satisfied with owning a huge property in the exclusive Kensington Palace Gardens in west London, Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal has got his heart set on picking up another in the same street — this time it is for son Aditya.

Known as billionaires row, Mittal bought his mansion in Kensington Palace Gardens four years ago for £57 million — making it the most expensive property in the UK at that time. But recently the Mittals have been making unsolicited offers to buy their neighbours out.

The 32-year-old scion of the Mittal family, Aditya is believed to have offered one of his neighbours a whopping £200 million for his eight-bedroom heritage home. But it was not enough to prompt Jon Hunt, founder of the Foxtons estate agency to sell. Hunt, who made his fortune from the property explosion, paid just £14 million for the rundown mansion in 2005, and has since then got permission to build an underground sports hall comprising a swimming pool, gym and sauna, as well as ‘car museum’ for his six Ferraris.

Hunt is believed not to be ready to sell as his is on the better side of street overlooking the magnificent Kensington Gardens. Mittal’s friends claim that the offer of £200 million is exaggerated, but admit that Aditya is keen to shift his wife Megha and their two daughters from Belgravia in central London where they currently live, to closer to his parents.

About a year ago, Aditya had made enquires about 12a Kensington Palace Gardens, which is the Nepalese Embassy doubling up as the ambassador’s home. “Our government said at the time that it wasn’t interested in selling and so the matter was closed,” a source at the Embassy told a British newspaper.

Local estate agents suggest that the Nepalese Embassy could fetch upto £150 million if put on the market today. “This is the only place you are going to get detached mansions of this size. If you sell here, where else are you going to buy?” suggested an property agent who works in the area. The average size of a home here is around 40,000 square feet.

Kensington Palace Gardens were built in the 1840s on part of the grounds of Kensington Palace — erstwhile home of the late Princess Diana — and boasts the capital’s most imposing residences and is home to some of Britain’s wealthiest people. The Indian High Commissioner’s official residence is also on this road. A local property agent said that owner’s of the few private homes on the street are “deluged with unsolicited offers but few have the need or desire to sell”.