Omar Fayed, the half-brother of Dodi Fayed and son of Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Fayed, is selling his £5 million home in Primrose Hill.
The 34-year-old eco-entrepreneur’s property is located on an exclusive cobbled mews once home to Mayfair Recording Studios and frequented by David Bowie and Tina Turner.
He bought the house in 2014 for £3.5 million and undertook extensive renovations. It has a private roof terrace and a secret entrance to Chalcot Square, known for its brightly coloured houses and famous literary residents, such as the poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes who lived at number 3, and playwright Alan Bennett.
Mr Fayed said it had been an “absolute blessing” to live in the Camden property with his partner and son, but he is now looking for a bigger home with more room, as well as some outdoor space for his cats and dog.
He is selling the property to a friend, with contracts exchanged last week.
“It’s an inspiring, creative bolthole nestled in such a quiet area – one of those London neighbourhoods where you don’t feel like you’re in a big city,” he said.
While Mr Fayed is ready for a change of scene, the devoted Londoner has no plans to move out of the capital. “I love the buzz, the grit, and the pace of London life. Maybe it’s just second nature to me because I’ve lived here for the best part of my life.
“I’ve tried living in other places, but I find when I get off the plane and smell the beautiful fresh air of Heathrow or Gatwick, I know I’ve got to stay here.”
Mr Fayed, whose father the Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed was the owner of Harrods department store, was thrust into the family’s empire when his older half-brother Dodi died in a car crash with Princess Diana in 1997.
He became a Harrods director in 2006, aged just 19, however he resigned a few years later to focus on becoming an environmental entrepreneur and the iconic store was later sold for £1.5 billion to Qatar Holdings.
Omar Fayed is the co-founder of data visualisation company EarthX, a fellow of the Institute of Ecotechnics in London and chairman of the green infrastructure company Biotecture, which installed the living wall on the side of London’s Walkie Talkie. He has offices in Bloomsbury and Mayfair, as well as a painting studio.
The mews the house is on on was formerly home to film director Tim Burton, who lived in Eglon House, a £20 million glass-walled building inspired by the Maison du Verre in Paris that was built on the site of the former recording studios.
