Entrepreneur and Bollywood actor Sonam Kapoor bought a 200-year-old mansion in one of the swankiest parts of London, Notting Hill for £21million (Rs 270 crore) in 2023. They also purchased a few flats near the mansion to reportedly turn it into servant quarters. As they move forward with plans to redevelop the property, several of their neighbours have objected to their purchasing of the flats. Here’s why:
Sonam Kapoor, Anand Ahuja London mansion at the centre of a dispute
Credit: Instagram/sonamkapoor
After buying a run-down mansion in Notting Hill three years ago, Anand Ahuja and , submitted their plans to renovate the property internally. According to a recent report by the Daily Mail, their plans include a basement swimming pool and a subterranean basketball court while maintaining the outer walls.
After multiple appeals and objection, their plans were finally approved earlier this month. However, tensions with their neighbours have escalated ever since the couple purchased five flats for Rs 51 crore for servant housing in Hillcrest, a block near their mansion. They have reportedly purchased the flats for staff who would be working at the mansion.
According to the report, residents are hesitant to speak up because of the influence of their power and wealth.
A resident said, “We are afraid of speaking out because we don’t want to get sued by billionaires. They have already made threats after some of us spoke to the press. Their plans were approved by the council two weeks ago so now we are dreading the noise. There is a border wall all the way down this property. They now have four voting shares in our building and there’s only 23 flats. They have had a rotating cast of people, call them staff or servants, who have been changing in one flat all the time.”
One homeowner said, “We’re being made to feel afraid of speaking out just because they’re powerful. We’ve formed a sense of community here and that’s changing because some billionaires want to make our home another playground.”
The resident also said that they were warned in a private meeting that if they objected, the flats would be turned into social housing.
The statement further read, “That will change even more if they let people in from what they call ‘social housing’. It’s a weird threat. The whole thing stinks. There’s nobody even living in some of the flats now. Some are being done up. But behind the scenes they have a say on what happens here. How is that acceptable?”
But now everyone has opposed the couple. Some have said that disputes like this are part and parcel of living in a city like London.
Anand and Sonam, who also own homes in Mumbai and Delhi, have already spent Rs 60 crore on the renovation of their UK home.
For the unversed, Anand Ahuja belongs to the billionaire family that own Shahi Exports, one of the largest garment manufacturing companies in the country. He is also the founder of Bhaane and sneaker brand VegNonVeg.
He got married to Sonam on May 8, 2018. They also have two sons — Vayu Kapoor Ahuja, who was born in August 2022, and Rudralokh Kapoor Ahuja, born on March 29, 2026.