Yahoo Finance London’s most expensive home sales of 2022: from historic mega mansions to private palaces
While many Londoners struggled to get on the property ladder in 2022, at the other end of the market mega-mansions have been flying off the shelves, with a record number of sales on properties valued over £5 million – a trend which is set to continue.
National property consultancy Carter Jonas predicts that the prime central London property market —where most luxury properties are concentrated— will outperform the rest of London in the coming months as international buyers take advantage of the weak pound.
From a record-breaking £210 million Hyde Park mega-mansion to Boy George’s Gothic Hampstead home, here are some of the most expensive properties to have been bought and sold in London this year.
The Apprentice mansion, Daleham Gardens, Hampstead
£16.5 million
Made famous by its appearance on The Apprentice in 2016, the 10,000 sq ft property was listed for sale with Aston Chase earlier this year.
The house has six bedrooms, four reception rooms, a cinema and wellbeing centre with a spa, pool, gym and steam room.
It underwent a seven-year overhaul before filming and first went on sale afterwards, when it was advertised for £11.95 million.
Cornwall Terrace, Regents Park
£25 million
A highly unusual “double house” overlooking Regent’s Park was listed for sale for £25 million in February this year.
Made up of two Grade I-listed homes that have been joined together by their current owners, the property —which is still for sale— is to be sold in “shell condition”.
“It’s completely unmodernised and has been taken back to brick,” said Mark Schneiderman of Arlington Residential. “Somebody can, within reason, do whatever they want to do in the house.”
House of Gucci, Grafton Street, Mayfair
£55 million
This neoclassical mansion in Mayfair was the global headquarters of Gucci between 1998 and June 2010. It was where US designer Tom Ford served as the brand’s creative director, using the mansion’s first-floor drawing room — with 20ft-high gold-leaf decorated ceilings, vast windows and Georgian fireplaces—as his office.
Before Gucci moved in, the building was given a two-year makeover and fitted (naturally) with bespoke Gucci furniture, including black calfskin sofas and chairs. There is also a swimming pool and spa facilities at the property.
Dubbed “Mayfair’s finest house currently for sale” by listing agents Beauchamp Estates, the house was priced at £55 million, or £40,000 a week to rent. It is still for sale on the company’s website.
Chelsea Barracks, Belgravia
£58 million
In February, a 15,000sq ft townhouse in the controversial Chelsea Barracks development went on sale for £58 million, making it the most expensive property to be listed on the open market at the time.
In Belgravia and bordering Kensington and Chelsea, the seven-bedroom home has a spa with a 12m swimming pool and in-house treatment rooms. There’s a cinema room, private garden and roof terrace, as well as a private garage, passenger and service lifts and a separate luxury mews house for guests at the end of the garden.
Number 2 Whistler Square is one of 13 townhouses in the exclusive enclave of 64 apartments, penthouses and a mews house.
Park Modern, Queensway
£60 million
A penthouse overlooking Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park is for sale for £60 million – although it’s not finished yet.
Listed in May, the five-bedroom flat in the Park Modern development became the most expensive apartment on sale in London.
The development spans nine floors, with valet parking, a restaurant and wellness floor. It is on track to be completed in the first half of 2023.
Avenue Road, St John’s Wood
£110 million
This “extremely rare” nine-bedroom mega-mansion on Avenue Road was listed with DDRE Global for an expected £110 million.
It features a triple-height underground swimming pool, gym and cinema, and has a two-bedroom staff cottage which is linked to the main building by an underground art gallery.
DDRE said planning restrictions on mega-builds and deep basements in the heart of the capital meant “this size home will most likely never be constructed again”.
Only property hunters with the means to prove their “identity and financial capability” were to be granted viewings.
The property is now listed off market, with the price available on application.
Sloane House, Chelsea
£170 million
Formula One heiress Petra Ecclestone initially listed her palatial Chelsea home off market for £170 million, announcing her intention to sell with a video tour posted online.
Ecclestone bought the Georgian mansion in 2010, renovating it and building a basement “wellness level” as well as additional upper floors. She is thought to have paid around £60 million for both properties.
The home now has eight bedrooms and 12 bathrooms, spanning 20,000 sq ft. There is a custom-made gold bar, a gym, soft play area, beauty salon and a five-metre-long fish tank in the kitchen, containing 64 different types of fish.
Today, the house is listed with US agency Hilton & Hyland for $230 million (£189m).
Hyde Park, Westminster
£210 million
This 20-bedroom mega-mansion with an Olympic sized swimming pool came on the market this autumn.
Described as one of London’s seven “private palaces”, it was last sold for a record £210 million in 2020, and is said to have attracted interest from US and Middle East-based investors.
It was previously owned by Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the former crown prince of Saudi Arabia, who died in 2011.
The Financial Times reported the current owner to be the founder of Chinese developer giant Evergrande, who was once China’s richest man.
The property has 45 rooms and covers 62,000 sq ft of living space over six storeys.
