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Jonathan Charles David Sandelson (born 1968) is a British property developer and an investor in The Strategic Iconic Assets Heritage Acquisition Fund (SIAHAF).

Early life

Johnny Sandelson was born into a Jewish family, the son of Victor Lightman Sandelson (1928-2017) and Bernice Sandelson. He has a brother Robert Sandelson, and two sisters, Antonia and Jo. His father was an art collector and arts journalist, and his mother was an artist. His uncle (Victor's older brother) was the Labour Party MP Neville Sandelson (1923-2002), who was a co-founder of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Career

In 2003, Sandelson founded GuestInvest with Sir Mark Weinberg, and the company bought hotels and sought to sell 999-year leases on individual rooms for £300,000 to £1 million as investments. GuestInvest went into administration in 2008, with investors "concerned that they may not get their money back", as it was not regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). In 2008, GuestInvest owned six hotels including Blakes Hotel, Nest and The Jones, both near Hyde Park, and the Chiswell Street Hotel, all in London.

Sandelson is one of the principals behind the recent acquisition of large parts of the Queensway district of West London. He was said to have masterminded the acquisition of Whiteleys and is continuing in partnership with Meyer Bergman on the development of a number of buildings within the Queensway Estate.

Sandelson's previous projects include the Carlyon Bay redevelopment project in St Austell, Cornwall; the acquisition and redevelopment of Somerset Place in Bath where, over 5 years, he oversaw the restoration and redevelopment of a Georgian crescent of houses and apartments, all Grade 1 listed properties; and the HBOS-backed hotel investment brand GuestInvest which was a high profile casualty of the downturn in the UK commercial property market in 2007.

In 2015, also in partnership with Meyer Bergman and advised by Savills, Sandelson completed the £250m Project Soya portfolio of sites in Tolworth, Woolwich and Kensington which was recognised as Deal of the Year in the 2016 RESI awards. Sandelson achieved planning consent for the Jericho Wharf site on the Oxford Canal. Also in 2015, Sandelson acquired for £80m the Mayfair building of Thomas Goode & Co., which continued to occupy the building as a tenant.

In May 2016, Sandelson co-founded (with Karen Mulville) a high-end care home business, Auriens, with its first development in Chelsea, London due to open in 2019.

In February 2018, together with his brother Robert Sandelson, he acquired the British Art Fair, formerly known as the 20/21 British Art Fair. The Fair has been running for 30 years, and will have a new home at the Saatchi Gallery as part of a major investment by its new owners.

References

1. Sponsors Archived 2013-06-08 at the Wayback Machine The Strategic Iconic Assets Heritage Acquisition Fund, 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2013. Archived here.
2. ^ "British Art Fair finds a new home and new investors". bqlive.co.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
3. ^ "An Establishment Man: R.I.P. Victor Sandelson, 1928-2017". wordpress.com. 21 March 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
4. "SANDELSON - Deaths Announcements - Telegraph Announcements". announcements.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
5. "Home suite home - The Spectator". The Spectator. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
6. ^ Atkinson, Rebecca (3 October 2008). "GuestInvest goes into administration". moneywise.co.uk. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
7. Brunei family’s secret £500m swoop on Queensway by Suzie Neuwirth, City A.M., 16 September 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2013. Archived here.
8. Whiteleys’ new owners reveal £1bn masterplan for Queensway by Mira Bar-Hillel & Jonathan Prynn, London Evening Standard, 16 September 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2013. Archived here.
9. Why empty shells give property owners a blank canvas by Fred Redwood in The Telegraph, 27 February 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
10. "Stars of residential shine at RESI Awards 2016". propertyweek.com. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
11. Hopkins, Kathryn (2015-08-11). "Peer cashes in on luxury retail's new domino effect". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
12. Ashworth, Anne. "A place where perennials will go to party". The Times. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
13. Neate, Rupert (3 March 2018). "Caviar care home: retirement complex for 'oligarchs' to open in Chelsea". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
14. Thompson, Henrietta (8 June 2016). "Is this London's most glamorous retirement home?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 March 2018 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.

• Living people
• 1968 births
• British Jews