The Court of Appeal has dashed the prospects of a Kuwaiti telecoms company suing a Saudi prince for bankruptcy in Britain because it was unable to prove the prince was a resident of a UK property — specifically one of the most exclusive apartment buildings in Kensington.
Bankruptcy petitioner Mobile Telecommunications Company KSCP has been in dispute with Prince Hussam Bin Saud Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for the last 15 years over spiralling debt. The prince is a son of the late King Saud and governor of Saudi Arabia’s Al-Bahah province. The company is chasing the prince for at least $900m (£664m) and has been seeking to bring a bankruptcy petition in the UK to recover the money.
But to do this the company must prove the prince “had a place of residence in England and Wales” between 1 June 2019 and 1 June 2022. This is further complicated by the fact the prince had been found in contempt of court in 2018 and would have been arrested upon arrival if he came to the UK.
At the heart of the dispute is York House, York Place in Kensington, W8, an Edwardian mansion block by Kensington Palace and one of the most exclusive apartment buildings in that part of London.
The apartment was bought by his mother, Princess Noorah, in 1976, and the prince lived there while a student at the LSE between 1982 and 1990. He then moved with his family back to Saudi Arabia. The apartment remains owned by Princess Noorah.
At a hearing in February, lawyers for the company attempted to persuade judges that, even though the prince probably hadn’t lived at the property, or any other London property, during the period and most likely hadn’t come to the UK since 2018, the fact he had access to it is enough to say he had a place of residence.
Specifically, they argued that, as he was a resident until 1990, still had access to the property, and had not positively “abandoned” it, it remains the prince’s London place of residence.
Giving judgment on Friday, Court of Appeal judge Lord Justice Snowden said: “The highest that it could be put is that during the relevant period, Prince Hussam had an expectation that if he had asked, he would have been given permission to stay as a guest in a property in London owned by his mother. But he did not make such a request, he did not visit this jurisdiction, and there was and is no prospect that he is likely to do so in the foreseeable future,” he said.
“There is also nothing in the petitioner’s argument that because Prince Hussam had been found to have a place of residence in England and Wales until 1990, that would continue to be the legal position unless and until he could show that he had ‘abandoned his earlier place of residence. There is no such principle of law,” he said in the judgment.
The three-judge panel dismissed the case, ending any further prospect of appeal.
Mobile Telecommunications Company KSCP v HRH Prince Hussam Bin Saud Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Court of Appeal (Newey LJ, Snowden LJ, Whipple LJ) 30 May 2025
