Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Indian tycoon buys £21m Notting Hill property

Anand Ahuja and his wife, bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor, plan to reside in part of the building

Indian tycoon buys £21m Notting Hill property
FILE PHOTO: Anand Ahuja and Sonam Kapoor. (ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty Images)

HARISH AHUJA, owner of India's largest garment exporter Shahi Exports, has purchased an eight-storey property in London's Notting Hill for £21 million.

The deal, completed in July, is one of the largest residential property sales in the UK this year, despite a general slowdown in luxury property transactions, reported Bloomberg.


Ahuja’s son, Anand Ahuja, a director at Shahi Exports, and his wife, bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor, plan to reside in part of the building after redevelopment, with a portion of the property expected to be converted into flats. The site, close to Kensington Gardens, was previously owned by a UK-registered charity.

Shahi Exports, based in Karnataka, supplies major international brands like Uniqlo, Decathlon, and H&M, operating over 50 factories and employing more than 100,000 people.

Ahuja’s acquisition stands out amid a slowdown in London’s luxury property market, where transactions over £5m dropped by 19 per cent in July compared to the same period last year, according to data from LonRes.

Harish Ahuja

Property experts have cautioned that upcoming VAT on private schools and changes to the “non-dom” tax regime, which offers favourable tax treatment to wealthy foreign residents, could dampen demand for top-tier London real estate.

However, data from Hamptons International reveals that Indian buyers have continued to increase their presence in the capital’s prime property market, with a 3 per cent rise in purchases from 2019 to 2023, the highest growth among any nationality.

In recent weeks, two Indian buyers secured apartments in Mayfair for £7.85m and £9.15m, including one that was previously owned by Princess Diana’s stepmother.

In 2023, Indian billionaire Ravi Ruia bought a Regent’s Park mansion for £113m, while vaccine mogul Adar Poonawalla purchased a Mayfair residence for £138m, the most expensive UK property deal of that year.

Shahi Exports has not commented on the purchase.

More For You

british-muslims-iStock

The study noted that this identification was not due to any doctrinal obligation but was influenced by the perception that many Muslims do not feel fully accepted as British. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Majority of British Muslims identify by faith first, study finds

A STUDY by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) has found that most British Muslims identify primarily with their religion rather than their nationality.

The research, based on a survey of 815 British Muslim adults by Whitestone Insight, revealed that 71 per cent of respondents identified as Muslim first, while 27 per cent identified as British, English, or Scottish first.

Keep ReadingShow less
Car Tax Changes: EV Owners Now Required to Pay for the First Time

Owners of electric vehicles registered on or after 1 April 2025 will pay £10 for the first year, followed by the standard VED rate of £195 from the second year. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Car tax changes take effect: EV owners to pay for first time

FROM today, 1 April 2025, electric cars, vans, and motorcycles in the UK will be subject to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for the first time.

The change, introduced in the 2022 Autumn Statement by former Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, aims to make motoring taxation fairer.

Keep ReadingShow less
scotland-minimum-wages-iStock

Full-time workers on the National Living Wage will receive an annual pay increase of £1,400 in real terms. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Wage increase takes effect for thousands of workers in Scotland

HUNDREDS of thousands of workers in Scotland will see a pay increase as new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates take effect from Tuesday.

The changes will benefit approximately 220,000 people, according to STV News.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk-energy-bill-iStock

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

April bill increases put financial strain on single parents

A RANGE of essential household bills are increasing from April, with Citizens Advice warning that single parents will be among the hardest hit.

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased, BBC reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools
Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper in 'Adolescence'
Netflix

Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools

THE NETFLIX drama Adolescence will be shown in UK secondary schools as part of efforts to address harmful online influences on young boys, officials announced on Monday.

The show has sparked debate over the impact of toxic and misogynistic content on the internet. Prime minister Keir Starmer met the show's creators, charities, and young people at Downing Street, calling the initiative an important step in starting discussions about the content teenagers are exposed to online.

Keep ReadingShow less