Saudi prince sells English country estate to King of Bahrain

The Saudi royal sold his property in Glympton Park, in the scenic Cotswolds region, in February, sources said, asking not to be identified as the deal is confidential. The sale price was more than 120 million pounds ($165 million), one of the sources confirmed.

Public documents filed this month for Glympton Estates Ltd., the company managing the estate, show a change of ownership, reported Bloomberg.

They now list King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa and his son Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa as the people with significant control of the firm, replacing Prince Bandar.

Representatives for Prince Bandar and for the Bahrain King have not commented on the revelations.

Prince Bandar, who was previously in charge of intelligence, bought the estate in the 1990s for £11 million and apparently spent a further £42 million on renovations, the Oxford Mail reported in 2008.

King Hamad and his family have historic ties with Britain and the British royal family. They attended the Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday celebrations. Bahrain also sends military officers to train at the UK's Sandhurst Royal Military Academy.

Other members of the Saudi royal family have put their assets on the market in recent years.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd is reported to be in talks to sell a stake in Salesforce Tower, a London skyscraper, to a US investor for about £195 million, Bloomberg reported.

The private family office of Cheung Chung Kiu, a Chinese magnate, recently purchased a 45-room home in the Knightsbridge district from the heirs of Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the late crown prince, for more than £200 million.

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