Hedge fund boss splashes out in Mayfair to snap up dearest office

A HEDGE fund boss has broken the record for the UK’S highest office rent after agreeing to pay £250 a square foot for a new London base.

Ravi Mehta, the 37-year-old founder of Steadview Capital Management, signed a deal to move his company into 30 Berkeley Square in Mayfair, one of the capital’s most prestigious addresses.

The move will see it take up the 2,700 sq ft office space in a building that is also home to the famed Phillips auction house.

The landlord was reportedly hoping to let the full floor to one tenant but Steadview agreed to pay a premium because it did not need the full space.

The deal is well above what was thought to be the most recent UK high of £190 per square foot, paid by fashion investment tycoon Lawrence Stroll for property in St James’s in 2017.

Berkeley Square has become increasingly popular for hedge fund managers keen to establish a base away from the City and Canary Wharf.

Home to some of London’s most sought-after designer shops and restaurants, it is within easy reach of residential areas such as Chelsea and Knightsbridge. Mr Mehta, who is from New York, founded the hedge fund in 2009. He graduated from Harvard and had previously worked as an analyst for investment bank Morgan Stanley and hedge fund Maverick Capital. He is married to Nicolette Bird, 34, an actress and model, whom he met in Mumbai.

Steadview Capital Management, which is currently based on Brook St, not far from Berkeley Square, specialises in Indian investments.

A source close to the deal told The Times: “It’s such a special building. I think clearly when there’s someone out there that wants something so much they will pay what they need to get it.

“There’s no other building where you have got something like Phillips where you can almost go in through their reception and if you are bringing clients in it’s a completely different approach.”

Charles Begley, director of Westminster Property Association, told the Evening Standard, which broke the news: “This deal demonstrates a remarkable level of confidence in Mayfair, and shows that despite the political uncertainties, the West End remains hugely attractive to business.

“Rising rents also underline the shortage of office space, which unlike most areas of the capital, has actually fallen in Westminster in recent years.”

Steadview did not comment.