Brexit exit? Paris flat reportedly sold for record $44 million to mysterious British tycoon

The most expensive apartment on the Parisian property market has been sold for a hefty sum of €39 million ($44mn) to an unidentified wealthy “industrialist,” who is reportedly leaving Britain because of Brexit.

The 1,000-square-meter flat with sixteen rooms was sold for €7 million ($7.9mn) more than the previous most expensive property in the French capital, according to local business magazine Challenges.

The dream flat occupies three floors of an 18th-century mansion in the heart of the city, on the rue des Saints-Peres, in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. A 300-square-meter garden comes with the luxury estate sold by Philippe Menager and Nicolas Hug.

The name of the buyer behind the record-breaking apartment has not been announced, but local media said the new owner was a “European industrialist” wishing to settle in Paris amid UK’s ongoing divorce with the rest of the European Union.

The mysterious tycoon is not alone in his desire to flee London, according to the French business outlet. The rich are reportedly concerned that property prices in Britain may drop after Brexit and treat high-end Paris property as a good reinvestment opportunity.

Such expensive deals are quite rare for the city. The last purchase of an apartment worth more than €30 million ($34mn) occurred back in 2007, when the daughter of the former president of Uzbekistan, Gulnara Karimova, reportedly bought a 688-square-meter penthouse for €31 million ($35.1mn). However, the property was later seized by the French government and resold for half of the price.

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