As if the relentless pursuit by American and European forces, and those from his Arab neighbours, wasn’t enough to occupy his immediate thoughts, Colonel Gaddafi must also now contend with the prospective sale of one of his commercial properties in Central London. Since February the UK assets of the ever-elusive Libyan leader and his family, including currency, gold, and both private and commercial property, have been incrementally seized by the Treasury Asset Freezing Unit. However, Chancellor George Osborne has now given permission for Tekxel, a company owned by the Libyan state, to sell the dictator’s Holborn Tower property. It is also reported that any transaction is to be brokered through commercial property specialists Jones Lang La Salle.
Although aesthetically quite uninspiring, the building on High Holborn (in addition to Gaddafi’s Cornhill office and Portman House) will inevitably arouse great interest in the commercial property market, if for no other reason than the morbid curiosity factor. And with the latest quarterly survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the CBI predicting an increased demand for commercial property across the financial services industries the tyrant’s treasure may become a timely and welcome addition to this market in the capital.
It may never rain over the Sahara, but it certainly pours here in the UK for the Libyan leader, as earlier this year the £11 million Hampstead home of Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam was occupied by activist squatters in a demonstration over the despot’s treatment of democracy protestors in Tripoli. It’s plausible that the group known as ‘Topple the Tyrants’ will stage similar demonstrations at Gaddafi’s commercial property to further highlight their desire that all assets must return to the Libyan people.
Pending any future sales the majority of the estimated £280 million UK commercial property portfolio is expected to be channelled back to the Libyan people. Tekxel are claiming that they will not benefit from the proceeds of any sale, though of course this remains to be seen.
