Flat-Living.co.uk The great estates
Who owns leasehold London?
London is a singular city in many ways, not least because the bulk of its most expensive leasehold property is owned by just a handful of families. In this issue we take a look at the history of four of London’s biggest landowners.
THE GROSVENOR ESTATE
Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, the 6th Duke of Westminster is London’s wealthiest landlord. He and his family own around 300 acres of land, including some of London’s most exclusive addresses, which make up part of the Grosvenor Estate. The estate is most famous for its landmark residential properties in Mayfair and Belgravia but it also owns a portfolio of businesses, rural estates and other assets. In total the organisation employs more than 1,200 people. One hundred per cent of the shares in Grosvenor are
owned by the Trustees of various Grosvenor trusts established for the benefit of current and future members of the family. The Duke of Westminster’s seat is at Eaton Hall in Cheshire and the value of Grosvenor’s property holdings and other assets are estimated to make him the third richest man in Britain, according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2010. Grosvenor’s history began in 1677 with the marriage of Mary Davies
and Sir Thomas Grosvenor, who was part of a family that can trace its roots back to William the Conqueror. Mary had inherited 500 acres of land north of the Thames to the west of the City of London but
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