Chelsea FC Owner Eghbali Buys GBP 56 Million London Penthouse

Behdad Eghbali, co-owner of Chelsea FC and founder of Clearlake Capital, bought a luxury penthouse in London's high-end Mayfair district for more than GBP 56 million ($70 million), making it the UK's most expensive apartment deal in 2024.

The tycoon purchased the flat at the start of the summer in a building featuring a cinema, swimming pool and spa, according to a UK filing. Back in 2023, Eghbali had bought an apartment in the same neighborhood for about GBP 34 million, Bloomberg News has reported previously.

The deal suggests Eghbali is deepening his roots in London as Chelsea's on-field performances this season have shown signs of improvement. Since buying the club with fellow US businessman Todd Boehly in 2022, Eghbali has been spending more time in the UK attending team matches at home and away.

A representative for Eghbali declined to comment.

Clearlake owns a majority stake of more than 60% of Chelsea, with the rest held by investors led by Boehly, who became the public face of the club in the early days of the acquisition. Bloomberg News reported in May 2023 that Boehly was scaling back his involvement in Chelsea FC after the team recorded its worst English Premier League performance in 29 years, finishing 12th, in the bottom half of the table.

London's luxury property market is in the midst of a slump partly caused by hikes to stamp duty and the abolition of a preferential tax status enjoyed by ultra-rich UK residents officially domiciled overseas. Residential sales above GBP 5 million tumbled 23% in the first three quarters of 2024, data from broker Savills Plc show, signaling the worst year since 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic locked down London.

Still, some mega-deals defied the slump, including American billionaire Tom Ford's purchase of a Chelsea mansion for more than GBP 80 million and a GBP 61.5 million deal in Holland Park by Abu Dhabi's ruling family.

While it's unclear if Eghbali negotiated a discount, over a third of homes sold in Mayfair and the neighboring St James's in the year through October saw reductions in prices, according to researcher LonRes. Some sellers have resorted to discounts of around 30%.