The family of Mahdi Al Tajir, the Bahrain-born billionaire and founder of bottled-water company Highland Spring, is facing mounting financial difficulties linked to its extensive UK property portfolio. The family’s holdings, which include luxury developments in London and large estates in Perthshire, have been subject to defaults and enforcement actions by creditors in recent months.
Mahdi Al Tajir, who served as the United Arab Emirates’ first ambassador to the United Kingdom and was long regarded as Scotland’s wealthiest individual, built his fortune during his advisory role to the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed al-Maktoum of Dubai. His influence diminished in the 1980s as power shifted to Sheikh Rashid’s sons. Over several decades, the Tajir family acquired notable properties, including a Kent stately home featured in the 1967 film *Casino Royale* and the ancestral Keir House estate in Perthshire, near where Highland Spring was established in 1979. Highland Spring has since grown into the UK’s leading bottled-water brand, sourcing its water from the Ochil Hills.
Recent accounts and court filings reveal extensive borrowing by the family’s property companies from a range of lenders, including Gulf banks and international investors like Apollo Global Management. Efforts to restructure these debts have been underway for a few years. However, notable setbacks have emerged, such as the repossession in June of a Belgravia mews house by Swiss bank UBS due to unpaid mortgage obligations.
One of the family’s significant assets, a 620-acre golf resort near Gleneagles named gWest, was placed on the market last month after years of incomplete development. The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), which provided a £12.75 million loan secured against the resort, filed a breach of contract claim in London’s High Court in August after the loan matured without repayment. The gWest company’s 2025 accounts disclosed ongoing discussions with NBK to extend the loan.
In London, the family is also seeking to sell a six-storey townhouse in St James, mortgaged through a high-interest bridging loan in 2023. Aldersley London is handling the sale, with an asking price reportedly set at £125 million. Meanwhile, debt issues have forced defaults on loans tied to prime London properties such as the Park Tower Hotel in Knightsbridge and Arlington House in St James. Both assets are slated for major refurbishments but have struggled under heavy debt burdens.
Legal action has been taken by CBRE Loan Services, representing property lenders, who filed a claim against Amer and Khalid Al Tajir, two of Mahdi Al Tajir’s sons. This is related to a development project on The Bishops Avenue in Hampstead, an area known as “Billionaires' Row.” The family purchased the land in 2018 and has been developing 36 luxury apartments with property firm Valouran. At the end of last year, the owning company carried over £100 million in debt but reportedly is now “back on track” following restructuring efforts.
Industry sources characterize the current difficulties as a result of mismanagement by the family’s successors, despite the patriarch’s reputation as a visionary businessman. Multiple lenders, including Apollo, King Street Capital, Cohort Capital, and Emirates NBD, have extended significant loans against the Tajir assets, many of which have breached covenants or entered default.
Neither the Tajir family nor representatives from their Dubai-based family office, Tyburn Capital, responded to requests for comment. Lenders involved also declined to comment on the ongoing financial and legal matters.