Roman Abramovich buys house in Herzliya worth over £50m

Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich bought a £51.6 million property in Herzliya in Israel shortly before the coronavirus crisis, according to Israeli media.

The Russian-born billionaire’s real estate deal in Herzliya Pituah, if confirmed, would be Israel’s most expensive ever real estate sale, for a reported 2.3 acre plot.

Details were published by Israeli business news site Globes, citing a “source close to the deal,” with the property bounded by Hanassi Ben Zvi Street, Shlomo Hamelekh Street and Basel Street.

Globes reports the seller as British hedge fund manager Alan Howard, who bought the house for around £7 million in 2006, before extending it substantially. Additions include a swimming pool on a hydraulic platform capable of being converted into guest accommodation.

It had been on sale priced at £80 million for two years before the deal, which was preceded by Abramovich renting the property. The Israel Land Registry now has a warning note in its forms that the four lots comprising the property are to be in his name.

If confirmed it will be Abramovich’s third big real estate deal in Israel, following his 2015 purchase of a house and boutique hotel in Tel Aviv’s trendy Neve Tzedek quarter, and a seafront Tel Aviv office building purchased last year.