[5] Although he remains a private man, he is fond of conspicuous consumption, owning a large fleet of luxury cars including Bentleys and Rolls-Royce Phantoms, as well as a 130-ft yacht.
[7][8] In late 2007, the sports gym chain Esporta, which he had purchased for £460m, was forced into administration, costing Halabi at least £120m of his own money, and damaging his relationship with his main creditor, Société Générale.
The grade II listed building was mothballed, with essential maintenance work remaining undone as the project architects sued Halabi for unpaid fees.
[12] In August 2009 insolvency specialists MCR were appointed as liquidators of Buckingham Securities Holdings, Halabi's principal client advisory vehicle.
[13] By October 2009, Halabi's Anglo Swiss Holdings company began to liquidate assets including the attempted sale of Cambridge House in Piccadilly, in central London, previously the premises of the Naval and Military Club.
[21] In February 2015, he was accused of assaulting and racially abusing a binman in Hay's Mews, off London's Berkeley Square, after a refuse truck had blocked his Bentley outside Annabel's, allegedly calling him a "monkey" and a "peasant", and then shouting "I own this road, I can do what I want".