(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Leon Black agreed to buy a mansion in one of London's most expensive districts for about 21 million pounds ($28 million), according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
The Eaton Square residence is a 15-minute walk from Buckingham Palace and was once the residence of former Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin. The property sold for about 2 million pounds below the asking price, the person said, asking not to be identified as they weren't authorized to discuss the deal.
The property comprises a four-bedroom apartment and an interconnecting two-bedroom mews house, according to a website listing. Beauchamp Estates, which brokered the sale, and a representative for Black declined to comment.
The purchase was first reported by the Financial Times.
The sale comes as interest in the capital's luxury homes picks up following the lifting of lockdown restrictions. Values in the most expensive areas rose 4.6% in the three months through October compared with the same period a year ago, according to property data company LonRes, a turnaround for a market that slumped after Brexit.
Billionaire Buyers
Black joins Ken Griffin and Cheung Chung Kiu as billionaires who have decided to buy London property in recent years in a vote of confidence in the market. Citadel's Griffin paid about 95 million pounds for a home two years ago while Cheung, the chairman and founder of Hong Kong-listed company CC Land Holdings Ltd., bought a mansion for about 210 million pounds.
Black, who co-founded Apollo Global Management Inc., stepped down as chairman and chief executive officer earlier this year amid intense scrutiny over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and is currently embroiled in a legal dispute with Guzel Ganieva, a former Russian model.
Read more: Black Alleges Wealthy Backer Is Behind Conspiracy to Destroy Him
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