Luxury London Land Bet Goes Awry in £30 Million Hit for Builder
- South African developer sold site to hotelier for £80 million
- Project became unviable on inflation and housing market slump
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A South African developer’s £110 million ($140 million) bet on a luxury plot of land in London has turned sour, with the property changing hands at a discount that was one of the city’s steepest last year.
Zenprop Property Holdings Pty sold the Kensington site for about £80 million to hotel operator Arora Group at the end of 2023, after high inflation and a wider sales slump thwarted its plan to build a luxury retirement village, according to people familiar with the matter.