In a highly-charged case expected to start tomorrow (Monday), Senator Waqar Ahmed Khan is fighting Deutsche’s plan to re-possess six Knightsbridge flats and a house on Bishops Avenue in a bid to recoup a £50m loan.
In a counter-claim that will be heard at the same time, Senator Khan, and four members of his family, argue that Deutsche withheld £11m of an agreed loan which prevented them developing the properties. The Khans, who had planned to build a house that would be one of the biggest in London, are seeking damages of around £60m from Deutsche.
The case, which is “just a debt reclaim”, according to a Deutsche source, centres on Draydes, a five-bedroom mansion on Bishops Avenue, a north London street nicknamed Billionaires Row whose residents include the Sultan of Brunei and Lakshmi Mittal.
According to court documents, the Khans bought the house in 2007 with an intention to “maximise its value by demolishing the existing house situated on the site and build a new, very significantly larger house within the curtilage of the site”. The Khans say the opportunity was brought to them by Deutsche private banker Nassim Ahmad, a “close trusted adviser and senior banker to the Khan Family”. Mr Ahmad and Senator Khan, who has held several government posts, had been close for 20 years; in 1999 the pair went to Makkah together for Umrah.
In 2005 the Khan family bought six apartments in a luxury London development called The Knightsbridge using loans from different banks. The family says Ahmad offered them loans totally £66m to refinance their properties, owned via special purpose vehicles, and move the portfolio to Deutsche. Part of the cash was earmarked to redevelop Draydes, a project that was expected to cost between £10m and £15m but create a house worth around £80m – enough to repay the entire loan.
The loan was agreed in August 2007 and £50m was advanced within days, which allowed the Khans to refinance their properties, but the remaining amount was withheld.
In the documents, the Khans claim that Deutsche “breached its contractural obligations in failing to advance the full amount which it had contracted to lend, with the result that the Khan Family were unable to undertake development projects which would have yielded a substantial profit.” As a result, the Khans say they have also been forced to “liquidate certain investments and incur losses on the early redemption of those investments.” The case is expected to run for three weeks. Deutsche declined to comment.
Senator Waqar fights Deutsche effort to repossess London property
