CEO of Covishield vaccine maker Serum Institute Adar Poonawalla has finalized this year's most expensive home sale in London at a staggering £138 million, that's approximately ₹1446 crore.
The billionare has bought the Aberconway House, which is a sprawling 1920s mansion near Hyde Park.
According to Financial Times, this acquisition was made through Serum Life Sciences, a UK subsidiary of the Poonawalla family's Serum Institute of India. The sale was facilitated by Dominika Kulczyk, daughter of the late businessman Jan Kulczyk, Poland’s wealthiest man.
This deal also places Aberconway House as the second-most expensive residential sale in London's history, marking a significant transaction in the luxury property market. According to reports, Poonawalla's family doesn't intend to relocate permanently to the UK, using the mansion as a base for both family and company needs during their UK visits.
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This investment follows substantial funding in vaccine research and manufacturing near Oxford, including a big pledge to Oxford University for the Poonawalla Vaccines Research Building in 2021. The Serum Institute was pivotal in producing millions of doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
Previously, Poonawalla had rented the Grade II-listed property for over £50,000 weekly in 2021, as reported by Bloomberg. The mansion, named after industrialist Henry Duncan McLaren, Baron Aberconway, was the residence of the late McLaren who constructed the Grosvenor Square mansion.
This purchase follows the acquisition of Hanover Lodge, the year's second-largest sale for by the Ruia family office for £113 million (₹1200 crore).
London's most expensive sale, 2-8a Rutland Gate, was finalized in January 2020 for a record-breaking £210 million by Hui Ka Yan, founder and chair of Evergrande, as revealed by the Financial Times last year.