An Indian tycoon behind an apparel empire has just paid £21 million ($27 million) for a home in London’s Notting Hill district, marking one of this year’s biggest UK residential deals that defied a wider slowdown in luxury sales, Bloomberg has reported.
Harish Ahuja, who owns and runs Shahi Exports Pvt., bought the eight-story residential convent in July, according to a UK filing. His son Anand Ahuja and daughter-in-law Sonam Kapoor — a Bollywood star — plan to use part of the sprawling property as the couple’s home following redevelopment, while a separate section of the building is likely to be converted into flats, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing the family’s plans, the report, carried by Business Standard, said.
The senior Ahuja built his fortune through Shahi Exports, which a local unit of Fitch Ratings says supplies to international brands including Uniqlo, Decathlon and H&M. The company operates more than 50 factories and employs over 100,000 people, according to its website.
Ahuja’s son, Anand, is a director at Shahi Exports and also runs his own retail company. Kapoor is best known for her roles in Bollywood films including Neerja, a movie based on an Indian flight attendant who died trying to save passengers and crew during an attempted hijacking of a Pan Am flight in 1986.