Why West Ham co-owner David Sullivan is selling his London mansion for a loss
David Sullivan, the co-owner and chairman of Premier League side West Ham United, is selling his London mansion for a loss after slashing the asking price by £10m.
The businessman, who is the majority shareholder in the London Stadium club, is selling the Marylebone property through Knight Frank for £65m.
The mansion includes 10 bedrooms and bathrooms, and features including a swimming pool, spa, cinema room, gym and wine cellar.
Sullivan has said he bought it for £27m in 2015 and spent nearly £50m renovating it, which took the total spend to about £75m.
‘You have to be realistic’ – David Sullivan
In an interview with Bloomberg, Sullivan said: “I’m selling it at a loss now, but you have to be realistic.
“Interest rates are high — they’re coming down but not much. I also think what the government is doing to the non-doms isn’t very nice, and a lot of rich people are leaving the country as a result of what they anticipate in the Budget.”
“Three or four of my friends have already gone to Monaco or Dubai,” he added.
Labour pledged in its election manifesto to crack down on so-called non-doms, meaning UK residents whose permanent home, or domicile, is outside of the UK for tax purposes.
Non-doms currently only have to pay tax on the money they earn in the UK.
The upcoming Budget statement could see the policy changed after Labour said it would remove “the outdated non-dom tax regime”, but reports have suggested that it could risk driving ultra-rich residents out of the country.
The Treasury said last week that it was “committed to addressing fairness in the tax system”, and that it would be replacing the system with a “new internationally competitive residence-based regime”.
Sullivan bought a controlling stake in West Ham with fellow businessman David Gold in 2010.
He built a successful career with Gold in the adult magazine publication business.