Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of Serum Institute of India, the company behind the Covishield vaccine, has reportedly made a significant purchase in London’s real estate market. He acquired Aberconway House, a nearly century-old mansion situated close to Hyde Park, for a staggering Rs 1,446 crore. This transaction makes Aberconway House the most expensive home sold in London throughout 2023.
The property was previously owned by Dominika Kulczyk, the daughter of the late Polish industrialist Jan Kulczyk. The purchase is being made by Serum Life Sciences, a UK-based subsidiary of the Poonawalla family’s Serum Institute of India. While the acquisition sets a new record for the most expensive home sold in London for the year, it falls short of the all-time high.
The title of London’s most expensive home sale still belongs to 2-8a Rutland Gate, which sold for a record-breaking £210 million in January 2020. Despite this, Aberconway House now holds the position of the second most expensive residential property ever sold in the city.
Sources close to Serum Life Sciences have clarified that the Poonawalla family does not intend to relocate permanently to the UK. However, the house will serve as a base for the company and family when they are in the country.
Adar Poonawalla, the son of the immensely wealthy Cyrus Poonawalla (whose net worth Forbes estimates at over $22.1 billion), has carved his own path in the business world. He attended prestigious schools like St Edmund’s School in Canterbury, The Bishop’s School in Pune, and the University of Westminster, where he pursued studies in biotechnology and management.
His appointment as CEO of the Serum Institute of India in 2011 marked a turning point for the company. Under his leadership, SII played a pivotal role in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. The company aimed to produce over 3 billion vaccine doses annually by the end of 2021, with half dedicated to the pandemic effort.
Adar’s commitment to global health justice was evident during the pandemic as SII produced and distributed doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to 70 countries.
It’s worth noting that the 2-8a Rutland Gate property was offered to Hui Ka Yan, the founder and chair of Evergrande, by the estate of Sultan bin Abdulaziz, the former crown prince of Saudi Arabia, in January 2020 for a record-breaking £210 million. This transaction solidified its position as the priciest house sale in London at that time.
This purchase by Adar Poonawalla joins a growing list of Indian businessmen who own properties in London. Mukesh Ambani, for instance, owns Stoke Park, a 900-year-old hotel on the outskirts of London. This 49-bedroom estate boasts thirteen tennis courts, fourteen acres of private gardens, and a 27-hole golf course. The billionaire acquired the hotel in 2020 for a sum of 57 million pounds or Rs 529 crore.
Lakshmi Mittal, another prominent Indian businessman, also owns several properties in London’s desirable areas. He is believed to own Summer Palace on Bishop Avenue and, in 2004, set a world record by paying £70 million for a 12-bedroom home in Kensington Palace Gardens, complete with 20 parking spaces. However, LiveMint reports that Lakshmi Mittal listed this opulent London residence for sale in 2013.
