Qatari billionaire plans London’s first £300MILLION home with six storeys, 25 bedrooms, a cinema, library, sauna and Turkish bath
Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, a member of the Qatari Royal Family, is believed to have scooped up the six-storey Forbes House in Belgravia
A QATARI billionaire is planning a major restoration that could become London’s first £300million mansion, it was revealed today.
Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani is believed to have purchased the six-storey Forbes House in Belgravia for about £150million.
Refurbishments are expected to double the property’s value.
The Forbes House is sandwiched in between Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park in Central London and is spread across an acre of land.
Sheikh Hamad is worth about £1billion and already owns the Candy brothers’ apartment block in Knightsbridge at One Hyde Park.
The 59-year-old is part of the Qatari Royal Family which already owns Harrods, the Shard, Canary Wharf and the Chelsea Barracks.
The sheikh’s new Belgravia pad has 25 bedrooms, parking for 32 vehicles and a carriage driveway that goes through its landscaped lawn.
It was previously owned by the billionaire Barclay brothers and was designed by the creator of the British Museum Sir Robert Smirke.
The Georgian mansion has been an office block since the live-in owners left in 1941.
However, planning documents reveal the Qatari royal will make the Forbes House a striking “small urban palace” and will be enjoyed by the wealthy similar to when “the British Empire was at its zenith and as rich as it ever was”.
A heritage report submitted to Westminster Council that was written by the DIA History Buildings Consultancy declares it would be converted into a “single family house of the highest quality”.
It adds: “There are few individuals who could/would be able to restore it while ensuring what is truly remarkable about it is both preserved and enhanced.”
The Grade II listed building has a stunning double staircase leading from the grand foyer.
The ground floor will have a stately drawing room, elegant dining room and library.
The “upstairs, downstairs” layout includes “his and hers” master suites on the first floor, six children’s rooms fitted with their own games rooms, five guest rooms and 12 staff bedrooms – 11 will be on the ground floor.
In the basement there will be two plunge pools, a Turkish bath, beauty room, gym, sauna and treatment room.
Furthermore, the basement will be fitted with a car lift and a cinema.
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Refurbishments are already in the works and will be finished in about 12 months, sources told.
Sheikh Hamad was the premier of Qatar from 2007 to 2013 and his other assets include a 436ft superyacht called the Al Mirqab.
Land Registry records for the Forbes House show a £34million transaction, but it is understood that figure related to the lease as it is owned by the Duke of Westminster although the £150million figure is the asking price.
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