An end-of-terrace house has been sold in one of Britain’s biggest-ever property deals – for a record-breaking for £80 million.
One Cornwall Terrace opposite Regent’s Park is one of London’s most important residences, spread over a vast 21,500sq/ft with seven bedrooms.
A former ambassadorial home – and one-time squat – it went on the market in November for a staggering £100million after an extensive overhaul.
Experts anticipated the property would be purchased by an ultra-rich Russian or Middle-Eastern businessman.
But it has been bought by British property mogul Marcus Cooper for £80 million in one of the biggest sales of the decade and a record price for a terraced home.
Mr Cooper, 47, who runs the Marcus Cooper Group, has set up a separate company, 1 Cornwall Terrace Limited, to buy the property.
The whopping price-tag makes it 492 times more expensive than the average UK home.
And at £80 million, Mr Cooper’s company will have to pay a further £12 million in stamp duty alone.
Mr. Cooper is a private businessman who has spent the past 20 years buying some of the capital’s finest homes including the 25-bedroom Witanhurst in Highgate.
Cornwall Terrace was originally designed and built in the 1820s by architect Decimus Burton with the project overseen by famed John Nash.
The front of ‘number one’ has a neo-classical Stucco elevation with Corinthian pilasters and a grand two-storey bay embellished with sculpted female columns of the Greek goddess Artemis.
In addition to seven bedrooms it also boasts 11 bathrooms, nine reception rooms and a catering kitchen.
It was the official London residence of the New Zealand High Commissioner from 1955 until the 1970s, playing home to lavish parties attended by royalty and other VIPs.
In 1975, hippies broke into the home and turned it into a temporary squat.
In recent years it underwent a stunning restoration and boasts a mixture of classic and contemporary features from marble and limestone-lined halls to iPad-controlled lighting.
There is also a sports complex which includes a gym and swimming pool and the high-tech gates have an automatic number plate recognition system.
Outside, the mansion has a beautiful 40-metre long landscaped garden and a grand double staircase which connects the terrace and landscaped areas.
Mr. Cooper is understood to have bought One Cornwall Terrace after seeking advice from estate agency Knight Frank, which yesterday (Mon) declined to comment on the sale.
The property was being marketed through Savills estate agents who confirmed the deal but would not give any further details about the transaction.
According to figures from the Land Registry, the average price of a house sold in the UK in January was £162,411.
This makes One Cornwall Terrace, at £80 million, 492 times more expensive than the average property.
The fabulous house has 11 reception rooms and nine bathrooms.
Gary Hersham, managing director of Mayfair-based Beauchamp Estates, said: “There have been six or seven sales north of £50 million in the past six months and this is at the top end.
“It is excellent news for the strength of the top-end of the London housing market.
“It also goes to show the soon-to-be-paid mansion tax and potential of capital gains had no significant bearing on the sale of the house.”
Property expert Henry Pryor added: “It’s a trophy home and I’m not surprised by the value, it is probably in the top eight per cent of homes in London.
“It is a cracking address and the purchaser would have had to compete with people from all over the world.
“There are three or four deals like this a year and the sale underlines the confidence in the market.”
