One Hyde Park is a major residential and retail complex located in Knightsbridge, London. The development includes three retail units totalling and 86 residential properties marketed with prices starting at around £20 million.
Planning consent for the building was granted in June 2006. Demolition of the previous building on the site - the 1950s office blockBowater House - took place between July and December 2006. Construction work began in January 2007. The superstructure of the building was completed in March 2009. Fitting-out of the building began in April 2009. In August 2010, a penthouse in the development was rumoured to be sold for £140 million, making it the most expensiveresidential property in Britain. It was also announced that McLaren Automotive would be opening a car showroom in the building in early 2011. As part of the construction of One Hyde Park, a new entrance to Knightsbridge tube station was built. This opened in December 2010 A penthouse was sold to One Hyde Park developer Christian Candy, who reportedly paid £31 million, "about £100 million less than the asking price". In January 2011, a newspaper report at the time of the development's launch party indicated that according to Land Registry records the sale of only five properties had been completed. As of 2013, there was little evidence of people actually living in the complex. In September 2013 it was reported that a one-bedroom apartment in the complex worth £5.25m had been repossessed. The sculpture Search for Enlightenment by Simon Gudgeon was unveiled on 19 January 2012 to mark the first anniversary of One Hyde Park. The bronze sculpture is of two human profiles, one male and the other female and faces Hyde Park and the Serpentine.
Tax issues
In November 2011 it was reported that only nine out of the 62 apartments that had been sold at One Hyde Park were registered with Westminster City Council for Council Tax. Despite prices ranging from £3.6 million for a one-bedroom flat to £136 million for a penthouse, only four properties were paying the full £755.60 a year Council Tax plus the £619.64 Greater London Authority charge, while five were paying the Council Tax at the 50% reduction for a second home. Westminster NorthMPKaren Buck stated: "When council spending is under unprecedented pressure, it is scandalous that residents in luxury apartments can avoid their share of council tax liability. It sometimes seems as if the more money you have the less you are required to pay." Nicholas Shaxson from Vanity Fair discovered that 60 apartments are owned by companies registered in tax havens as foreign companies and therefore don't have to pay taxes on the apartments. The owners of the companies remain anonymous.
