In one of the UK capital’s largest residential acquisitions in recent years, Indian billionaire Ravi Ruia purchased a £113 million ($145 million) London house linked to Russian property investor Andrey Goncharenko. According to a person familiar with the situation, Ruia’s family office, which co-owns investment business Essar Group, bought the Hanover Lodge house overlooking Regent’s Park at 150 Park Road this month through a sale of the home’s Gibraltar-incorporated holding company.
Goncharenko, the former deputy chief executive officer of Gazprom Invest Yug, a subsidiary of Russia’s state-run energy corporation, bought the property only two years ago. According to the individual, he paid £120 million for the property’s outstanding lease in 2012 from Conservative Party peer Rajkumar Bagri.
The property “is under construction and has become available at a price that makes it an appealing investment for the family office,” William Rego, a spokesperson for the Ruia family office, said in an emailed statement. The Financial Times was the first to report on the transaction.
The most costly residences in London are often purchased by purchasers who are less reliant on debt, especially when high interest rates diminish the motivation to borrow money. According to a Knight Frank research, 17% of persons with a net worth of $30 million or more purchased at least one house last year.
The newest transaction shows the opacity that persists in London’s ultra-prime property market, despite the UK’s attempt last year to increase openness through the establishment of a registry for offshore organisations. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also spurred the government to work to strengthen London’s reputation as a sanctuary for billionaires loyal to Vladimir Putin, despite the fact that Goncharenko is not among the affluent Russians targeted by sanctions. Nonetheless, the success of stricter legislation — which forces international corporations to reveal beneficial owners or face potential punishment — has been uneven, with luxury residences still changing hands without full public disclosure. According to broker Hamptons International, a record number of London residences were sold off-market in the last three months of last year, a particularly popular habit among the capital’s most expensive properties.
