Billionaire's property empire collapses as administrators try to sell £500m of London offices
The embattled property empire of well-known, Syrian-born billionaire, Simon Halabi, has suffered a further fall from grace as six of its most expensive
Earlier this year, The Times newspaper reported that the empire was facing trouble as a £1.15 billion loan secured against nine properties was due to mature. Analysts noted that the loan would be impossible to refinance as the value of the properties had dropped to £929 million as commercial property values took a battering.
The loan was called in after investors failed to resolve the funding gap. Shortly afterwards, HM Revenue & Customs ordered the liquidation of the companies that owned the properties, after unsuccessfully trying to call in £4.8 million in unpaid taxes.
Now the High Court has appointed accountancy firm, Ernst & Young, as administrator for the six
Commercial property investors are now thought to be circling closely with a view to securing a prime asset at the bottom of the market once the eventual sale takes place.
According to The Sunday Times Rich List in 2007 – where he was ranked a respectable fourteenth – Mr Halabi has a net worth of £3 billion and owns shares in 30 companies. He is known for being extremely secretive about the structure of his family’s property investments.