The new Labour government under Keir Starmer inherited a significant budget deficit from the Conservatives. This is no secret. If Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves introduces a tax increase for ultra-wealthy foreigners with the new budget, it could further impact the luxury segment of the London real estate market.
The latest «victim» of the slump in the top-tier private real estate segment in London is a British billionaire with a colorful past: David Sullivan, who built his fortune through soft porn and sex shops. According to the Sunday Times Rich List, his wealth is estimated at 1.2 billion British pounds ($1.6 billion).
According to a report by «Bloomberg», Sullivan, who is also chairman and largest shareholder of London football club West Ham United, has reduced the asking price for his residence in the western district of Marylebone by 10 million pounds, now asking 65 million pounds.
The property, with nearly 2,000 square meters of living space, features 10 bedrooms, a wine cellar, pool, elevator, roof terrace, and a professional kitchen, according to the property brochure from agency Knight Frank.
«You have to be realistic»
«I’m selling at a loss now, but you have to be realistic,» said Sullivan. According to him, he bought the building, originally built in 1775, for 27 million pounds in 2015 and invested around 50 pounds million in renovations.
«The market has changed, there’s no doubt about that,» says Paddy Dring of the real estate agency. According to Knight Frank, only 10 properties in the price range over 30 million pounds were sold in the 12 months up to June 2024, compared with 38 in the previous 12 months.
«Interest rates are high – they’re dropping, but not by much,» says Sullivan. «I also think that what the government is doing with the Non-Doms isn’t very nice, and a lot of wealthy people are leaving the country as a result of what they expect in the budget. Three or four of my friends have already moved to Monaco or Dubai.»
