Billionaire vaccine maker buys London’s most expensive property of the year
A billionaire who made his wealth from vaccines has just made the most expensive purchase on a home in London this year, snapping up a Mayfair mansion for £138m.
Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive of Serum Institute of India, Aberconway House, bought the 25,000 square foot pad from the daughter of the late businessman Jan Kulczyk, who was Poland’s richest man, the Financial Times reported.
The price tag makes the house the second-most expensive home ever sold in London and the biggest deal of the year, estate agents told the outlet.
The property will be acquired by Serum Life Sciences, a UK subsidiary of the Poonawalla family’s Indian company.
Poonawalla took over as head of the Serum Institute of India in 2011.
The company is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by number of doses produced and sold globally.
The premier end of London’s property market has been spared from the impact of higher borrowing costs, which has slowed down the number of homes being bought as buyers cannot afford mortgage costs.
According to a new study by Beauchamp Estates, in Mayfair multi-millionaire and billionaire home sales have more than doubled during 2023, compared to 2022.
The estate agent said that super-prime home sales, for properties valued at over £10m in Mayfair have boomed during 2023, with twice as many homes sold than in 2022, generating combined sales of £313m, triple the equivalent value of £123m last year.
Gary Hersham, founding director of Beauchamp Estates said: “During 2023 the Mayfair super-prime housing market has boomed, Mayfair is currently the most sought-after address in Prime Central London for wealthy home buyers from around the world.
“Beauchamp Estates has completed a dozen big deals for super-prime homes in the district over the last few months with most of our clients choosing to purchase large lateral apartments.”
He added: “The £10m plus deals landscape in Mayfair has been dominated by American and Middle East buyers who have undertaken cash purchases and taken advantage of preferential exchange rates for dollar buyers.”
Morning Wire has contacted the Serum Institute of India for a comment.