Ashley Tabor, 39, paid £90 million in May for a four-bedroom penthouse in a Knightsbridge
A radio tycoon who spent £90million on a flat next door to his home so he could create a mega penthouse, is set to have his plans rejected.
Ashley Tabor, 39, paid £90 million in May for a four-bedroom penthouse in a Knightsbridge development regarded as one of London’s ‘premier apartment buildings’.
He had submitted a planning application to amalgamate his two apartments and create one super-penthouse worth upwards of around £200million.
The proposed apartment would have had ten bedrooms, two kitchens, a cinema, office, study, playroom and living room spread across one giant 15,000 sq/ft floor.
Mr Tabor, who founded Global Radio in 2007, bought the £90million apartment mortgage-free.
The sale was completed in the middle of April and it is believed to be the biggest residential deal of the year, according to the Land Registry.
On top of the £90million, Mr Tabor will have paid a further £13.5million in stamp duty, which is one of the biggest ever payouts.
However planning chiefs at Westminster Council are now set to reject the proposals.
Mr Tabor submitted a planning application to amalgamate his two apartments and create one super-penthouse worth upwards of around £200million
Under its guidelines, amalgamating the properties would result in a loss of one residential property which is contrary to the council’s planning policy.
The planning committee said: ‘If the certificate for the amalgamation of two flats was granted then it would effectively prevent the council from optimising housing delivery contrary to the aims of adopted Policy S14.
‘Whilst it may be true that any individual unit of housing will inevitably represent only a small percentage of the entire housing stock in the City, the potential for numbers of similar cases coming forward and the potential cumulative impact of this on overall housing availability is considered to be a significant planning consequence.’
The music mogul, son of racing tycoon Michael Tabor, who is worth more than £600million, has commissioned high-end planning firm Gerald Eve to deal with the proposals.
On top of the £90million, Mr Tabor will have paid a further £13.5million in stamp duty, which is one of the biggest ever payouts
Mr Tabor, who founded Global Radio in 2007, bought the £90million apartment mortgage-free
Mr Tabor is not the only person trying to amalgamate two properties in the apartment block.
Sheikh Faisal Al Thani wants to do the same on a lower floor. A decision is expected to be made on October 17.
If the planning committee accepts the council’s recommendation, Mr Tabor will not be the first super-rich London resident to fall foul of the policy.
In 2013, the Qatari Royal Family tried to convert 1-3 Cornwall Terrace in Regents Park into a 17 bedroom, £200 million mansion.
But Westminster Council said the plans were ‘unacceptable’ and withdrew the application.