Zara founder’s London property valued at £1.8bn

Amancio Ortega, the Spanish billionaire founder of Zara, has seen the value of his sprawling London property empire surge to nearly £1.8 billion, it emerged today.

Accounts just filed for the UK arm of his investment vehicle Pontegadea showed the value of the firm’s properties reached £1.79 billion in 2015, based on a valuation by the agent JLL.

The figure was up substantially on the £620 million recorded in the 16 months to December 31, 2014. Pre-tax profit jumped to £47.5 million from £21.3 million.

Ortega embarked on a spending spree in the capital last year, which saw Pontegadea snap up a £400 million stretch on Oxford Street including retail space. He also owns Devonshire House opposite the Ritz.

So far this year, Pontegadea has forked out around £225 million for an office block in St James’s called Almack House from Grosvenor Fund Management.

The notoriously secretive fashion boss - the son of a railway worker - does not discuss his real estate business.