Li Ka-shing’s partner Solina Chau buys $35 million luxury London home

HONG KONG - Ms Solina Chau, the co-founder of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing’s venture arm, bought a luxury apartment next to Green Park in the heart of London.

The Hong Kong billionaire’s long-time partner spent £20.5 million ($35 million) on a flat in St James’s Place in August, according to a government filing. The property – nestled between Buckingham Palace and the exclusive Mayfair district – was one of London’s most expensive apartment deals in 2023, as the super-rich shrugged off headwinds to splurge on the city’s real estate.

Ms Chau, 62, is known for leading early bets in companies including video-conferencing firm Zoom Video Communications and artificial intelligence lab DeepMind Technologies. Her acumen helped boost Mr Li’s wealth, and at its peak, Zoom represented one-third of his fortune, with the value of the stake topping US$11 billion (S$14.8 billion). He has since cut back his investment.

London’s luxury real estate market has remained relatively strong even as global central banks have increased interest rates. In 2023, some wealthy overseas buyers spent more than £100 million on their properties in the British capital, with Mayfair making up 8 per cent of all £5 million-plus deals across the city.

Apartments accounted for almost half of London sales worth £5 million or more, the highest percentage since at least 2012, according to Savills. That has been driven by international buyers who are more concerned about quality of design than outdoor space, and a scarcity of larger stock on the market, the broker said.

Iranian-born Behdad Eghbali, founder of Clearlake Capital Group and co-owner of Chelsea FC, bought an apartment overlooking Grosvenor Square for £34 million in March. A few months later, Mr Xu Xiaoping, one of China’s most successful angel investors, bought a £38.6 million flat nestled between Green Park and Berkeley Square.

In contrast, the market in Hong Kong – where the benchmark stock index has slumped by almost one-third in the past year -– has suffered. Prices for luxury properties have sunk by 25 per cent to 30 per cent in the past 18 months and may decline a further 20 per cent in the coming year, Savills said in a November report.

Some of the houses up for sale in the city’s prime Peak area formally owned by mainland Chinese property tycoons are now seized by banks or lenders.

At a conference in Hong Kong in December, Ms Chau told reporters that Mr Li, 95, is closely watching the markets. Back in 2021, Mr Li repeatedly warned her that headwinds would arise and advised portfolio companies to prepare sufficient capital for the coming years, Mr Chau has said.

Mr Li, Hong Kong’s richest person, has a fortune estimated at US$26.8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. BLOOMBERG