Blimey! That’s a lot of apartments.
A shell company tied to the William Pears Group, a British real estate investor led by the billionaire Pears brothers, bought 62 condo units worth a combined $25 million, public records show.
The spending spree spread across two developments: 15 apartments at the Blair House in Sutton Place and 47 apartments at Kips Bay Towers.
The firm spent $19.35 million at Kips Bay and $5.63 million at Blair House. Stuart Berg, an attorney for Kurzman Eisenberg Corbin & Lever, signed for the LLC. The shell company is attached to MD Squared Property Group, a management company for condos, co-ops and rentals.
The William Pears Group has bought in bulk before, but never at this scale. In November 2020, it purchased 36 condos at the Continental in Turtle Bay for $11.5 million. In 2018, it acquired 30 units at Central Park Plaza in Harlem, just past the north end of the park, for $7.2 million.
In total, William Pears–affiliated entities have scooped up $72.3 million worth of apartments in Manhattan since August 2017.
The firm is run by Mark, David and Trevor Pears, whose father and grandfather founded it in 1952, according to the company’s website. The brothers also head up the family’s charitable foundation, to which the real estate business has given £69.3 million in the past three years.
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Neither the William Pears Group nor Berg immediately responded to requests for comment.
Bulk condo buys are more likely to occur at projects in distress. However, residential prices are recovering from their pandemic dips in New York, particularly in the luxury condo market. According to public records, the Pears have now spent at least $43.7 million on more than 100 apartments during the pandemic, and their latest purchase suggests they still see value.