According to the latest Wealth Report by Knight Frank, London is the third most expensive location in the world for luxury property, after Monaco and Hong Kong. With $1m (around £636,000), you can by only 17 square metres (sq m) of property in Monaco in comparison to 21 sq m in the UK capital. What kind of home can this really buy you though? Here are three of the most expensive properties to have ever been sold in London.
Seven-Bedroom Mayfair Home, £90m
After being put on the market this February, this seven-bedroom Mayfair home looks to be the biggest property sale of the year after it emerged that a deal of around £90m had been arranged. The hardbound brochure that accompanied the home spans 130 pages and describes the property as “a palatial home ideal for luxurious 21st century living.” The 21,000 square foot (sq ft) property features a ballroom large enough to accommodate 200 guests, a five-bedroom staff quarters, and a multi-storey garage that holds up to four vehicles thanks to its elaborate stacking system. According to reports, the home has not been used as a residence since the 1930s and is being bought by a wealthy European industrialist.
Three-Storey Knightsbridge Penthouse, £136m
In 2011, a three-storey penthouse overlooking Hyde Park sold for £136m making it by far the most expensive flat ever sold in the UK. The home was part of the One Hyde Park development project in Knightsbridge, which includes 86 residential properties priced over £20m. Incredibly, the home was purchased as an empty shell with no interior decoration or amenities, and the new owners plan to spend a further £60m fitting out the property. While the identities of the buyers at the One Hyde Park project have been closely guarded, it later emerged that the buyer was Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest person.
Forty-Five Bedroom Hyde Park Mansion, £280m
However, both of these properties pale in comparison to what could become the most expensive property ever sold in the UK. The forty-five bedroom mansion in Hyde Park has been on the market for three years now, since the death of its owner, Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, with an asking price of £300m. The property features a large basement swimming pool, underground parking, and several lifts in order to more easily get around the massive 60,000 sq ft home. News that a private offer of £280m has been submitted were reported last month, though details of the potential future owner are unclear.
These kinds of homes are a far cry from the typical London property market as seen from agents like Morgan Randall. One thing’s for sure, though, the capital’s luxury housing market has become a playground for the world’s rich and powerful.
Sophia
