It has been more than twelve years since the Palais de Montmorency, a magnificent mansion on Avenue Foch, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, found no buyer.
It was ultimately the French management company Mindston Capital which ended up purchasing this exceptional residence for the modest sum of 46.5 million euros... or half less than its original sale price set at 100 million euros.
According to information from
Challenges,
the transaction between the owner of this building, the former ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United Kingdom and France, Mohammed Mahdi al-Tajir, and the company specializing in the management of dedicated investment funds to real estate, would have taken place at the end of December 2023.
The Blumenthal-Montmorency hotel, located near the Place de l'Etoile and the Arc de Triomphe, was built in 1912 by the architect Henri-Paul Nenot, at the origin of the Meurice hotel and of the New Sorbonne.
Sponsored by the entrepreneur Ferdinand Blumenthal, a wealthy owner of tanneries in France, the Louis XVI style mansion belongs to his wife, the Duchess of Montmorency, who remarried the Duke of Montmorency.
A hotel of 3,100 m2 and 24 rooms
In 1927, the palace was sold for the sum of 8 million gold francs and became the property of Anténor Patiño, son of Simon Patiño, one of the richest men in the world at the time, also nicknamed "the king tin.”
This grandiose property, in the heart of Paris, occupies approximately 3,100 m2 of living space and approximately 1,500 m2 of land.
It has a total of 12 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms as well as 4 staff apartments and a breathtaking dining room whose ceiling was painted by renowned artist Henri Rousseau.
Living mainly in London, Mohammed Mahdi al-Tajir ended up putting his home back on the real estate market in 2011. Valued at 102 million euros, it is the second most expensive house in the world after the Spelling Manor in Beverly Hills sold for 150 million dollars.
After more than ten years without finding a buyer, the 92-year-old billionaire, fifth richest in Scotland according to
Sunday Times, therefore had to revise its requirements significantly downwards to successfully sell its property.
While waiting for a sale, the hotel hosted evenings or fashion shows.
The Palace was finally bought a few weeks ago by the management company Mindston Capital, whose main objective is to acquire properties and then renovate them in order to resell them to an international clientele.