James Dyson buys Singapore’s most expensive apartment

British billionaire Sir James Dyson, inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner, has bought Singapore’s most expensive penthouse, official records show.

The three-story penthouse – once valued at S$100m (£60m) – sits on the 62nd-64th floor, is equipped with a private pool and located in the heart of the city-state’s financial district.

Sir James, a Brexit supporter, announced in January he is moving his head office from Britain to Singapore to be closer to its fastest-growing markets. His eponymous firm – which also makes bladeless fans, air purifiers and hair dryers – plans to build its first electric car in the city-state.

Wallich Residence’s penthouse sits in the tallest building in Singapore, built by developer GuocoLand.

Before its unveiling in 2017, the highest asking price for the “bungalow in the sky” reached a dizzying S$100m, making it Singapore’s most expensive. 

Official title records seen by Reuters show Sir James and his wife became tenants of the 99-year leasehold property on 20 June. The records did not state the price paid but Business Times reported here that Dyson bought the property for S$73.8m.

“Given the decision to locate the headquarters in Singapore and the growing focus of the company’s business in the region, of course James Dyson has bought a property there,” a Dyson spokesman said, without giving further details of the purchase.

The 72-year-old has become one of Britain’s best-known entrepreneurs, creating a multibillion-dollar company from an insight that a cyclone could collect household dust better than a clogged-up bag.

Singapore is an island of well-heeled stability that attracts the super-rich from its less-developed Southeast Asian neighbours, as well as multi-millionaires from mainland China.

To cool its property market, the Singapore government intensified property curbs last year after a 9.1 per cent annual increase in home prices and as developers paid record amounts to buy land.

Reuters