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Record £100m price-tag on London house
Mira Bar-Hillel14 Apr 2009
A terrace house in Belgravia has gone on the market for a record £100million.
The six-storey property in Belgrave Square has more than 21,000 square feet of living space, the equivalent of about four large family homes.
The current record London house price is £80 million, paid last year by Ukrainian philanthropist Elena Franchuk for a property in Upper Phillimore Gardens, Kensington.
The stucco-fronted house at No 10 Belgrave Square, owned by Lebanese developer Musa Salem, has 20ft ceilings in some rooms and lavish fixtures and fittings throughout.
Mr Salem bought it several years ago on a long lease from the Grosvenor Estate. The sale included a condition to restore the house to full Victorian glory, at which point the developer will be granted the freehold.
Builders are putting the finishing touches to the interior after Mr Salem embarked on a major works programme, including gutting the building behind the facade, digging a large basement and acquiring a mews house behind.
The home is on the market at £4,671 per square foot, above the prices commanded in Belgravia. The vendor is refusing to disclose details normally available including how many bedrooms it has.
The buying agents usually involved in such deals are not being allowed in to look "on spec", while potential clients are being vetted to ensure they would have sufficient funds.
Property expert Charles McDowell said: "To ask £100 million for such a house now and expect it to be paid is ridiculous."
Another agent, who asked to remain nameless, said: "Anyone hoping for this price tag in 2009 is living on Mars."
Other owners in the square include Sheikh Mohammed, the ruler of Dubai, and several embassies are based there.
At No 31, an eight-bedroom house of a similar size has been on the market for some time at £80million. The 20,000 sq ft property, with gym, pool, mews house and a garage large enough for a fleet of Bentleys, is being sold by the Saudi Juffali family after the death of its owner, who bought it for £33million in 2006.
Reader views (9)
Hey - if the market can handle it, fine. If not, then they'll have to adjust. Just because Joe Blow can't afford it, that doesn't mean that it can't be pitched at those who can. After all, it's not as though anyone will be FORCED to buy the place, is it!
- Rogan, Irving, 14/04/2009 16:52
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Wow, £100m houses, multi-million City bonuses I must have dreamt we've had a recession and 2008 never happened !!
- Pablo, Kent, 14/04/2009 16:15
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Definitely Planet X.
- Reuben Camara, Morecambe UK, 14/04/2009 15:14
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It will sell, compare that to the the Candy brothers 1 Hyde Park Development asking £100m and you have a freehold without neighbours upstairs!
£100m for a multi billionaire to have the status symbol as having the most expensive home in London is a major attraction....but compare that to what it can buy right now in USA or rest of the world....its a dilemma!
It will push up Belgaravia prices even further so the wealthy just get wealthier!!
- Mortgage Broker N3, London, England, 14/04/2009 14:36
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It'll sell, no problem, to a foreigner with heaps of cash of slightly (or more than slightly) dubious origin. It's a better investment than a football team, and pounds aren't what they were a year ago.
- Nigel, London, 14/04/2009 14:17
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They won't sell it; the rich are now poor.......LOL.
- Mickyinlondon, london, 14/04/2009 13:53
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100million quid for a house you dont even own!?
- Alanj, London, 14/04/2009 12:28
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Perhaps tax payers could buy it and use it to house MPs who currently have to lodge in siblings' spare rooms!!!!! It would certainly be a lot cheaper than what it is currently costing us to fund second homes, bath plugs, porn films, scatter cushions patio heaters, second homes, etc, etc, etc.
- R.F., Yorks, UK, 14/04/2009 12:07
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Money must be funny in a rich mans world?.
Now where have I heard that before ... I wonder?
- John., Scarborough N.Yorks U.K., 14/04/2009 10:02
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