Michael Bloomberg offers £2 million above the £15 million asking price to see off three other bidders and buys George Eliot’s house by the River Thames
Proof if it were required that the ultra-prime London property market is not slowing down came on Monday in the form of news that the billionaire and former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg outbid three others in paying £2 million ($3.1 million, €2.8 million) more than the £15 million ($23.3 million, €21 million) asking price for a house on Cheyne Walk in Old Chelsea, London.
Dating to 1715 and the last home of the novelist Mary Ann Evans (1819 – 1880) –better known as George Eliot – in the months before her death, Grade II* listed 4 Cheyne Walk was also the home of the grandson of Claus von Stauffenberg (1907 – 1944), one of the leading members of the Operation Valkyrie plot of 1944 that failed to kill Adolf Hitler.
Owned by the current residents since 1979, the red brick Queen Anne style house includes many original features. The most notable, according to the selling agents Strutt & Parker, is a “grand staircase” complete with a ceiling by the English artist Sir James Thornhill (1675 – 1734) and walls by the French baroque artist John Devoto (1708 – 1752) and columns painted by the Irish poet and painter Daniel Maclise (1806 – 1870).
Some 6,266 square foot in size, 4 Cheyne Walk currently is configured to include 5 reception rooms, 7 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. There is a 92-foot long garden to the rear and a 3-car garage is held on a separate lease. Bloomberg and his “domestic partner” Diana Taylor – who also currently own a £20 million ($31 million, €28.1 million) residence in Cadogan Square, Knightsbridge – are expected to carry out substantial alterations to the property before moving in.
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