Sheikh Khalifa's £5.5billion London secret property empire revealed: UAE president's huge real-estate portfolio includes Queen's birthplace and Assange's Ecuadorian embassy bolthole
- Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan has amassed huge real-estate portfolio in London's top areas since 1990s
- The Sheikh owns property in Bruton Street in London's upmarket Mayfair district, where the Queen was born
- Other properties in £5.5billion London real-estate empire include in Kensington, Knightsbridge, Westminster
The huge £5.5billion London property empire of the mega-rich president of the United Arab Emirates has been revealed.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, whose half-brother is the owner of Manchester City football club, has amassed the massive real-estate portfolio since the 1990s.
Today it includes the Queen's birthplace, 17 Bruton Street, now a Chinese restaurant, in London's super-upmarket Mayfair district, as well as the Ecuadorian embassy in Knightsbridge - where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was holed up for seven years while claiming diplomatic immunity.
Other properties include Berkeley Square House, home to the flash Mayfair seafood restaurant Sexy Fish, where diners sit among Damien Hirst mermaid sculptures, the nine-story luxury apartment block, One Kensington Gardens, and the Time Life Building in New Bond Street.
Outside of London, Sheikh Khalifa also owns the luxurious 18 century-built Ascot Place, near Windsor Great Park.
Earlier this year, court papers reportedly claimed that the wealthy head of state had his water tanks at the £60million Berkshire mansion filled with Evian water, which he had shipped in from France.
The Sheikh's property empire could be as large as the Duke of Westminster, a 29-year-old aristocrat who owns large areas of London. And with around 1,000 tenants, the portfolio reportedly brings in an annual rental income of £160million.
The secretive £5.5bn real estate empire, comprising of about 170 properties, was revealed in leaked documents, court filings and analysis of public by The Guardian.
A map showing some of the properties in Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan's £5.5billion property empire in London
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, whose half-brother is the owner of Manchester City football club, has amassed the massive real-estate portfolio since the 1990s. Pictured: Bruton Street in Mayfair, London, where Sheikh Khalifa owns property and where the Queen was born
Today the real-estate empire includes Hans Crescent, which is home Ecuadorian embassy in Knightsbridge - where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was holed up for seven years while claiming diplomatic immunity
Other properties include the nine-story luxury apartment block, One Kensington Gardens, and the Time Life Building (pictured) in New Bond Street
Other properties include Berkeley Square House, home to the flash Mayfair seafood restaurant Sexy Fish, where diners sit among Damien Hirst mermaid sculptures
Earlier this year, court papers reportedly claimed that wealthy head of state (pictured in 2013) had his water tanks at the £60million Berkshire mansion filled with Evian water, which he had shipped in from France
Sheikh Khalifa also owns Tilney House, in Mayfair, which is just a short distance from London's Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace
The property empire also includes four detatched properties in Ham Ridings, which are reportedly for those who work at his nearby mansion near Richmond Park
Other properties unearthed include, Mayfair's 46 Berkeley Square, home of private members club and so-called 'celebrity playground' Annabel's, as well as the freehold of 95 buildings surrounding it.
Sheikh Khalifa also owns high-end office block 50 Berkeley Street, in Kensington, and four detached properties near Richmond Park, as well as Tilney House in Mayfair.
The paper reports that the ownership of the real-estate portfolio has been shrouded in secrecy for many years and, according to a source, was created through 'stealth-like deals, quietly put together over many years'.
It also involves a complex structure of shell companies in offshore havens, according to The Guardian, though doing so is perfectly legal in the UK and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing.
The property empire is currently at the centre of a High Court battle between Berkeley Square Holdings, a set of companies whose ultimate beneficial owner is Sheikh Khalifa and his family, and the British directors of Lancer Property Asset Management, the former managers of the real-estate empire, The Times reported in June.
According to the report, the Sheikh sacked the firm in 2017 before the management firm was replaced by an Abu Dhabi-owned company.
The two sides have since been locked in a 'bitter' legal battle with lawyers representing the Sheikh, whose half-brother is Manchester City's billionaire owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, accusing the directors of Lancer of charging excessive fees, as well as dishonesty, it is reported.
They have also accused the company of 'siphoning' of more than £30million from money received for managing Sheikh Khalifa's London property empire - said to contain at least 120 properties - say The Times.
Lancer's directors have denied the allegations and are counter-suing Berkeley Square Holdings for unfair dismissal as well as unpaid fees.
As previously reported by MailOnline, John Kevill, Andrew Lax and Byron Pull took legal action in 2018 claiming unfair dismissal from Astrea, the company which replaced Lancer, when they were fired on the transfer day.
A fourth man, Duncan Ferguson went just days later.
All four men were due to be transferred as part of the change-over of the lucrative contract.
In a ruling in January this year, a tribunal judge agreed that Kevill and Ferguson had been unfairly dismissed, but Pull and Lax had not.
Other properties unearthed include, Mayfair's 46 Berkeley Square (pictured), home of private members club and so-called 'celebrity playground' Annabel's, as well as the freehold of 95 buildings surrounding it
Sheikh Khalifa also owns high-end office block 50 Berkeley Street, in Kensington, and four detached properties near Richmond Park, as well as Tilney House in Mayfair. Pictured: The Channel store in New Bond Street, London, which is part of the property empire
Among Sheikh Khalifa's £5billion property empire is the nine-story luxury apartment block, One Kensington Gardens, in London
Outside of London, Sheikh Khalifa also owns the luxurious £60million 18 century-built Ascot Place (pictured), near Windsor Great Park
In an appeal by the directors against part of the ruling, the judge sided mostly with Astrea, but ordered that the lower court must reconsider whether Lax and Pull were transferred over to Astrea under TUPE rules.
Meanwhile, as part of the latest court papers, Lancer's directors have accused Sheikh Khalifa of 'profligacy', the Times reports.
It also reports that in the documents it is claimed Sheikh Khalifa, spent more than £450,000 a year on 15 permanent staff for a country house north of Madrid - despite the Sheikh or his family not visiting for 17 years.
Other claims include that the Sheikh bought a £5million house in Ham Gate, south west London, but was unable to use it because it was 'too small' for his personal security team and staff.
Agents were instructed to purchase a neighbour's property, but they were knocked back by the owners, say The Times.
Sheikh Khalifa is Emir of Abu Dhabi and the current president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a country which consists of seven emirates.
These are: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. Abu Dhabi serves as the capital of the UAE.
Sheikh Khalifa has been the president of the UAE since 2004, following the death of his father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan - who was the founding father and the principal driving force behind the creation of the UAE.
As well as being the president of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa is the supreme commander of the UAE armed forces and chairman of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADAI).
It manages more than £875billion in assets across the world, including many top buildings in London, Paris and New York and has a large stake in Gatwick Airport.
Berkeley Square Holdings includes the Berkeley Square Estate in London and, among others, the former BHS building on Oxford Street.
In 2010, the Queen presented Sheikh Khalifa with the Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, while he conferred on her the Order of Zayed, the UAE's highest civil decoration
Sheikh Khalifa has taken a step back from public life since 2014, when he suffered a stroke.
Though he is still the president, his half-brother, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, carries out most of the public affairs and day-to-day running of the UAE.
Among his other relatives including his half-brother Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the owner of Manchester City football club.
Sheikh Khalifa is thought to be worth around $18billion, while the Al Nahyan family is believed to hold a fortune of $150 billion.
MailOnline has reached out to representatives of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority for comment.
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