American Billionaire Defies Brexit By Buying London’s Most Expensive House

Hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin has just bought one of the most expensive homes ever sold in London.

The founder of the hedge fund Citadel paid £95 million ($122 million) for 3 Carlton Gardens close to Buckingham Palace. It is the largest amount publically paid for a property in London since Lakshmi Mittal bought his house in Kensington Palace Gardens for £117 million ($150 million) a decade ago.

Citadel’s communication officer, Julie Andreeff Jensen, confirmed the purchase. 

In October last year, property developer Nick Candy remortgaged his penthouse in London’s One Hyde Park for £160 million ($206 million), which made it London’s priciest valuation, though it did not change hands. He is now demanding £150,000 a week in rent, another record-breaker.

Why So Much?

The Georgian 3 Carlton Terrace can list a host of famous occupants. It was once the wartime residence of Charles de Gaulle. It and neighboring properties have housed three British prime ministers: Earl Grey, Viscount Palmerston, and William Gladstone.

Originally designed by John Nash, who remodeled neighboring Buckingham Palace, the house has recently been upgraded by developer Mike Spink. Two new basements have enlarged the property to cover 16,000 sq ft, which includes an indoor swimming pool and staff quarters.

A Boost for Brexit

Griffin’s purchase will be seen as a symbolic boost to London’s real estate market. The prime London property market has suffered in recent years. According to the Savills, an estate agency, “at the end of September 2018, prices in this market had fallen by 18.4% since 2014”.

Coutts, a British private bank, said the volume of real estate transactions fell 5.5 percent in the third quarter of last year. Brexit was largely to blame, the bank said: “Under these circumstances, we expect the downward trend in sales volumes to continue in the short term.”

News of such a significant purchase will give many prime real estate investors confidence in the market despite current Brexit uncertainty.

Griffin’s bargain

There is a catch, however. Pricy properties are selling but not for nearly as much as they were.

In the third quarter of last year, 52 percent of prime properties in London had their prices marked down by surveyors before sale.

Griffin’s property was no exception. The property was discreetly offered to potential buyers on an off-market basis for offers around £125 million ($161 million), said one person familiar with the deal. That means Griffins saved around £30 million ($39 million) on his £95 million ($122 million) purchase.

With such savings to be had – and a favorable exchange rate to match – London’s real estate market can expect to see much more American interest in the future.

This article has been updated correct the original asking price of 3 Carlton Terrace was ‘for offers around £125 million’.

This post first appeared on Forbes.com. To see the original, click here.