KEY POINTS

• London luxury property slump drives steep discount.
• Haidar acquires flagship flat for £42 million.
• Deal highlights ongoing London luxury property slump.

Nigerian-Lebanese businessman Bassim Haidar has bought a full-floor apartment in One Hyde Park for about £42 million, closing one of the sharpest distressed deals in Knightsbridge this year.

The price is roughly 30 percent below the £60 million paid in 2011 by Liu Jianming, wife of Hong Kong property magnate Pan Sutong.

London luxury property slump fuels major markdown

Lenders seized the 9,000-square-foot home a showpiece in one of London’s best-known luxury towers as they moved to recover debts from Pan’s collapsed property empire. Pan, once among Asia’s wealthiest, filed for bankruptcy in 2022 as financing pressures overwhelmed his business.

Haidar said he waited for clarity on the UK chancellor’s budget before closing the deal. The entrepreneur, 54, called the acquisition a seven-to-ten-year investment, saying it “represents an opportunity to acquire some assets in the UK right now and wait it out for the long term.”

Born in Nigeria to Lebanese parents, Haidar launched his first telecom venture at age 20 and has built a near-£1 billion fortune across telecom, fintech and logistics. He has previously held around £80 million in central London real estate and, until last year, owned a superyacht once used by Princess Diana.

Political shifts and tax pressures reshape demand

According to Billionaires Africa, Haidar was once a major donor to the Conservative Party but pivoted to Reform UK this year, openly backing Nigel Farage’s leadership ambitions. One Hyde Park itself was developed by Nick and Christian Candy; Nick Candy now serves as Reform UK’s treasurer.

Furthermore, the sharp price cut underscores the continuing London luxury property slump. Values in the city’s priciest postcodes sit about 20 percent below their 2015 peak, Knight Frank data show. Higher taxes, questions around capital gains reform and the scrapping of the non-dom regime have pushed many wealthy residents toward jurisdictions such as Dubai and Monaco.

For investors like Haidar, distressed assets in elite neighbourhoods signal a long-cycle buying window though recovery timelines remain uncertain.