Billionaire Tom Ford buys $104M London mansion in the UK’s priciest home sale this year

Real Estate

It’s a fashionable buy — and a purchase so large, it’s making waves across the pond.

Bloomberg reports that the American billionaire fashion designer Tom Ford has shelled out $104 million for a mansion in London, marking the most expensive deal for a home in the United Kingdom this year.

Not much is known about the residence itself, save for the fact it’s located in the affluent Chelsea district — and that he bought it over the summer. It stands between Hyde Park and the north bank of the River Thames.

Tom Ford is part of a trend of Americans buying luxe homes in London. Getty Images for GQ
Not much is known about the residence he bought, but it stands in Chelsea, which is known for its stock of handsome buildings. Haris Photography – stock.adobe.com
Wealthy Americans have bought homes in London, in part, due to escaping social and political issues in the US. Andrew – stock.adobe.com

Ford, a native Texan, made the massive purchase during a slump in the London luxury property market. In part, that has been due to anticipated reforms impacting deep-pocketed UK residents who live abroad. The Labour government has also upped the stamp duty on purchases of second homes. It isn’t clear if Ford got a discount.

Meanwhile, Americans like Ford have felt the pull of buying in London, thanks in part to a strong US dollar. In the first six months of 2024, the share of American buying London homes rose to 6.1% from 3.3% in the last six months of 2023. That’s the largest increase in that half-on-half span of time seen in the last 12 years, according to Knight Frank.

Another reason for wealthy Americans heading to London and buying there: an escape from social and political problems in the US.

For his part, Ford reached billionaire status at the end of 2022, after Estée Lauder’s purchase of his eponymous brand at a $2.8 billion valuation. Before launching his own company, Ford was famously known as the creative director of Gucci.

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