A member of the Tilda rice empire family has boosted confidence in London’s struggling prime property market after buying a St John’s Wood mansion at close to its £16.5 million asking price, the Standard understands.
The house in Hamilton Terrace, minutes from Lord’s, has seven bedrooms, a staff bedroom, six bathrooms and a gym and spa following a five-year refurbishment.
The garden was designed by Christopher Bradley-Hole, the landscape architect and gold medal winner at Chelsea Flower Show.
A member of the Thakrar family — which is behind Tilda, the company credited with bringing basmati rice to the West before it sold up in 2014 for more than £200 million — is understood to be behind the purchase, although the family declined to comment.
James Bailey, boss of Henry & James, the estate agent, would not reveal the buyer, but said: “I think this is good for the market in general… this gives some solid evidence to the fact that there is confidence returning.”
The super-prime residential market has been subdued since the Brexit vote last June and investment consultancy London Central Portfolio said there were just 23 sales in London of homes priced over £10 million from June to November 2016, compared with 56 in the same period in 2015.
As well as Brexit jitters, buyers were put off last year by the introduction of an additional three per cent stamp duty bill on property bought as a second home or a buy-to-let investment.
Stephen Lindsay, of Savills’ St John’s Wood office, said: “This sale demonstrates that the top end of the markets in north-west and central London are robust. Despite refurbishment costs, stamp duty land tax and the outcome of the referendum, wealthy families still have confidence in purchasing sizeable assets and homes in these areas.”
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