Bassim Haidar snaps up One Hyde Park flat for £42 million

Nigerian-Lebanese businessman Bassim Haidar has bought a full-floor apartment in London’s One Hyde Park for about £42 million, acquiring the asset at a steep discount after it was seized from the wife of bankrupt Hong Kong property magnate Pan Sutong.

Haidar, founder of several telecom and fintech ventures, said he closed the deal after waiting for clarity from the UK chancellor’s budget. The price represents roughly a 30% markdown from the £60 million the property fetched in 2011, when it was purchased through an offshore firm controlled by Pan’s wife, Liu Jianming.

The 9,000-square-foot residence—one of the flagship units in Knightsbridge’s most high-profile development—was put up for sale in October after lenders moved to recover debts tied to Pan’s collapsed property empire. Once ranked among Asia’s wealthiest businessmen, Pan filed for bankruptcy in Hong Kong in 2022.

For Haidar, the acquisition is a long-horizon bet on the resilience of London’s top-tier housing market. “It represents an opportunity to acquire some assets in the UK right now and wait it out for the long term,” said the 54-year-old entrepreneur, describing the investment as a seven-to-10-year play.

Born in Nigeria to Lebanese parents, Haidar launched his first telecom company at 20 and has since built a fortune approaching £1 billion. His holdings have included roughly £80 million of central London property and, until last year, a superyacht once used by Diana, Princess of Wales.

Haidar, previously a major donor to the Conservative Party, shifted his political backing to Reform UK in April and has publicly supported Nigel Farage’s bid for national leadership. One Hyde Park itself was developed by Nick and Christian Candy; Nick Candy now serves as Reform UK’s treasurer.

The sharp drop in value highlights the broader slump at the top end of London’s market. Prices in the capital’s most exclusive postcodes remain about 20% below their 2015 peak, according to Knight Frank. A combination of tax changes, speculation over capital gains reforms and the government’s scrapping of the non-dom regime has pushed wealthy residents toward lower-tax jurisdictions such as Dubai and Monaco.