Tag: for sale

High & Low

“Penthouse to rival any other penthouse in the world” in converted brewery next to Tower Bridge for sale for £12.5 million

Described as “a penthouse to rival any other penthouse in the world” despite its somewhat pedestrian decoration, a £12.5 million ($15.7 million, €14.7 million or درهم57.6 million) five floor apartment next to Tower Bridge is currently for sale.

Situated within the former Anchor Brewhouse, a building that formerly housed the Courage Brewery, ‘The High Command’ penthouse includes 4,286 square foot of internal space and 1,203 square foot of terraces. It has a private internal lift and as well as featuring 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, comes with a gazebo, a domed rotunda with a gallery, 6 terraces and 4 private parking spaces.

On the market periodically since February 2015 with Knight Frank and Cluttons, ‘The High Command’ enjoys views across the City of London to the north and Canary Wharf to the east.

‘The High Command’ is described as being “designed to picture frame’ the various aspects of Tower Bridge”

The building at night with ‘The High Command’ highlighted

‘The Riverside’ is situated on the ground and basement levels of the building and is offered for £6 million

Buyers with a slightly more limited budget have the option of purchasing a ground and basement flat in the building. ‘The Riverside’, a 3-bedroom apartment, is offered for £6 million ($7.5 million, €7.1 million or درهم27.6 million) by Knight Frank.

April 17, 2017
Gone is the Garage

Purpose-built Upper East Side, NYC Beaux Arts garage reduced in price by 41%; it will still cost around £40 million to buy and turn into a vast single family residence

Purpose built in 1906 to house the cars of wealthy (but not quite so wealthy enough to have their own carriage houses) Upper Eastsiders, 177 – 179 East 73^rd Street in New York is a five-storey Beaux Arts structure that is described as “unusually sophisticated”.

Reduced from a completely unrealistic £39.8 million ($50 million, €47 million or درهم183.6 million) when first marketed in 2015 to £23.5 million ($29.5 million, €27.7 million or درهم108.4 million) today, estimates put the cost of converting the building to a single townhouse at upto £15.9 million ($20 million, €18.8 million or درهم73.5 million).

Featuring a granite and limestone façade, 177 – 179 East 73^rd Street has ceiling heights that range from 12’7” to 17’, is 40’ wide and provides 17,232 square foot of internal space. Though plans have been drawn up to turn it into a vast 8-beroom residence complete with a 8-car garage, basketball court and home cinema, rival agent Jed Garfield of Leslie J. Garfield, told The Real Deal: “I think it’s still overpriced. The only surprising thing is that they’re now willing to sell it at [closer to] market price” late last week.

The building – which remains in use as a UES garage – is listed by Carrie Chiang of Corcoran and is described as “just waiting to undergo a metamorphosis in the hands of a discerning buyer”.

Image shows 177 – 179 East 73^rd Street in 1906, 2017 and a rendering as a single family residence (left to right).

April 17, 2017
A Federal Find

Federal-style New York townhouse for sale for £3.982 million; the West Village was previously the Home of the Sons and Daughters of Israel

A 2,212 square foot townhouse dating to 1833 on sale in New York comes with quite a history. Built in the Federal-style by a cartman named John C. Blauvelt, the property subsequently became the Home of the Sons and Daughters of Israel – a “home for aged male and female Hebrews” – in 1913 and was then converted to two residences in 1951.

232 West 10th Street, West Village, Manhattan, New York, NY 10014, United States of America

Reduced in price from £4.772 million ($5.975 million, €5.630 million or درهم21.946 million) to £3.982 million ($4.986 million, €4.698 million or درهم18.313 million), 232 West 10^th Street in West Village, Manhattan currently remains as two units and comprises of 3 reception rooms, 2 kitchens, 2 offices, 2 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. It could, however, easily be reconfigured back into a family home and comes with both a terrace and garden.

The house is offered by the Farah team at Compass Realty and is described as “a renovator’s dream”.

April 16, 2017
Witchfinders and Watermills

Picturesque watermill used in ‘The Witchfinder General’ and ‘Dad’s Army’ for sale

Witches and water don’t have an affinity – with dunking being a common form of punishment for suspects in the 16^th and 17^th centuries – and at The Watermill on the River Black Bourn at Ixworth in Suffolk, just such activity occurred in the 1968 film The Witchfinder General.

The Watermill, which is now for sale for £1 million ($1.3 million, €1.2 million or درهم4.6 milllion) through Savills, was also a location in the popular BBC series Dad’s Army and of this property, which until recently was used as a holiday rental, the corporation’s Martha Kearney once remarked: “I can’t think of a more enchanted summer evening than sitting outside the Mill, gazing across the water lilies on the pond to the beautiful island beyond”.

The Watermill prior to renovation

A working mill from 1800 until 1946, the 5,848 square foot, three floor building comes with detailed restrictions about how it could be altered given it is Grade II* listed but currently provides 3 reception rooms, 5 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

Previously rented from £1,450 to £3,000 per week depending on season, The Watermill is situated on a three acre plot that includes a picturesque lily-covered mill pond with island and mill race. An outbuilding has lapsed planning permission for conversion into ancillary accommodation whilst the former mill itself retains much of its original machinery.

April 15, 2017
Balancing Bedrooms

Converted Hampshire coach house for sale; it extends to 6,222 square foot but has just two bedrooms

A 6,222 square foot Hampshire coach house that was converted to a residential dwelling in 1987 is for sale for £2.5 million ($3.1 million, €2.9 million or درهم11.4 million).

Hildon House at Broughton is Grade II listed and though vast in terms of its total size provides just two bedroom suites. The house, instead, is primarily comprised of six entertaining spaces and two kitchens and is presented in a modern style internally.

Standing in 18.99 acres of parkland that formerly belonged to Rose Hill, the long since demolished house the coach house served, the three-floor building is set around a courtyard. It comes with a one bedroom annexe, clock tower, outdoor swimming pool and carport.

Knight Frank are the sole selling agents.

April 13, 2017
An MP’s Manor

Norfolk manor house owned by anti-Brexit Conservative politician Lord Prior of Brampton for sale for £3 million

David Prior – now The Rt. Hon. The Lord Prior of Brampton – undoubtedly was a decent and able Member of Parliament. Educated at Charterhouse and Cambridge, he became first an investment banker with Lehman Brothers and Lazard and then subsequently represented the Norfolk North constituency between 1997 and 2001.

A Conservative but one with a belief that “the role of the market is hugely limited in health and social care” and that Brexit will be “a terrible mistake”, 62-year old Mr Prior – whose father was the “Tory wet” Jim, later The Rt. Hon. The Lord Prior PC (1927 – 2016) – acquired Swannington Manor, ten miles north of Norwich in 1990 with his wife and has recently put it up for sale for £3 million ($3.8 million, €3.5 million or درهم13.8 million).

Standing in 96.5 acres, Swannington Manor is a Grade II listed red brick built house that dates to around 1700. It retains many period features, extends to 7,519 square foot and includes 5 reception rooms, 8 bedrooms and a self-contained annexe. A 3 bedroom lodge – let on a protected tenancy – stands beside the property’s entrance gates and aside from various outbuildings, barns and stores, there are formal and informal gardens, a kitchen garden, a heated outdoor swimming pool and a hard tennis court.

Primarily to the south and west of the house are grazing meadows, water meadows, a trout stream, a series of ponds and areas of woodland. These have been maintained with conservation and duck flighting in mind and form what the selling agents Savills describe as “a small sporting estate”.

Surprisingly, given his comments about Britain leaving the EU, Lord Prior of Brampton was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 21^st December 2016.

April 13, 2017
81 Miles From New

1996 Mercedes-Benz SL500 that has been driven just 81 miles and stored in a Knightsbridge garage since new to be auctioned for 1,000% more than a normal example of its age

A Mercedes-Benz with a difference is to be auctioned on its twenty-first birthday on 12^th April. The car to be offered is an SL500 that effectively has covered an average of just 3.9 miles per year during its lifetime and it is presented in “virtually new condition”.

Offered by Coys of Kensington, the Imperial Red with Mushroom leather two-seat roadster was bought from Normand of Mayfair and was only recently recommissioned after spending the vast majority of its life locked in a Knightsbridge garage.

Of the time warp car, Chris Routledge, CEO of Coys of Kensington, remarked:

“This is a car with a fantastic story. Purchased as a birthday present and driven only 81 miles before the [female] owner lost the keys and never drove it again. It even comes with a letter written by the owner’s butler verifying its mileage and its provenance”.

“Had she not lost the keys and used it regularly, we estimate it would now be worth between £5,000 to £7,000 ($6,200 to $8,700, €5,900 to €8,200 or درهم22,800 to درهم31,900), but the fact that it has kept such a low mileage and has not been driven in more than twenty years makes it worth between £45,000 and £55,000 ($56,000 to $68,000, €53,000 to €64,000 or درهم205,000 to درهم251,000)”.

“What happened with the keys remains a mystery but the car comes with new keys for the new owner”.

April 10, 2017
Taking the Tito

Ex-Marshal Tito Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Landaulet for sale for staggering sum 1,598% higher than similar examples owned by other dictators

“Benevolent communist dictator” Marshal Josip Tito, 1^st President of Yugoslavia (1892 – 1980) had use of a Boeing 727 plane, a private train and a 55-foot yacht but now the 1971 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman ‘Presidential Landaulet’ he travelled around in from 1971 to 1980 is for sale for the staggering sum of £2.5 million ($3.1 million, €2.9 million or درهم11.4 million) through Tom Hartley Jnr. in Derbyshire, England.

Tito with the car in the background

Tito used to take his dog for rides in the vehicle

And apparently he used to shave in it too

Capable of achieving 0 mph to 100 mph in 10 seconds, this 2.5-tonne, 6.3-litre limousine was built to Tito’s personal specification. The ‘dictator-mobile’s’ bespoke features numbered not only a drinks cabinet but also a shaving kit in its rear centre console and despite having covered 17,012 miles and having passed through various owners, is in remarkably good condition.

Justifying the punchy price sought, in November 2016, Tom Hartley Jnr. told Car Dealer magazine:

“I’ve always been in love with the car. It’s a very significant and very important car – all of the Landaulets are, and only nine of them were built in the long roof, six-door configuration. Of those nine, this is probably regarded as the most original, the most unmolested car and it also has great provenance”.

A 1965 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman owned by China’s Foreign Minister, Chen Yi, sold for just £147,200 ($182,800, €172,500 or درهم671,400) in 2014 whilst just £225,000 ($279,400, €263,700 or درهم1.03 million) was sought for a 1977 example originally owned by Bokassa I of Central Africa in 2015.

Naturally, the needs of drinkers was a prime consideration when it came to bespoke fittings

Luxurious rear seating

The glass partition between the passengers and the driver

The driver’s seating

And hood down

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with Tito in 1972

April 10, 2017
Five of the Best – Auctions America Auburn Spring

Five of the best lots on offer at the Auctions America Auburn Spring, Indiana sale of classic and modern cars and military lots

From 11^th to 13^th May at the Auburn Auction Park in Auburn Spring in Indiana, USA, Auctions America will sell a vast range of cars and military lots. Here, we choose our five favourite lots on offer:

1920 Ford Model T Coupé – £6,500 to £8,100 ($8,000 to $10,000, €7,600 to €9,400 or درهم29,400 to درهم36,700)

With over 16.5 million built between 1908 and 1927, the Ford Model T stands at the eighth most sold cars of all time. Undoubtedly the first affordable car produced, an example from 1920 provides an affordable way to start a classic car collection. The example offered also reflects the sentiments of Henry Ford (1863 – 1947), whom once said: “Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black”.

1930 Cunningham V8 33286 Hearse – £64,600 to £80,700 ($80,000 to $100,000, €75,600 to €94,500 or درهم293,800 to درهم367,300)

A perfect mode of conveyance for the Addams Family or Ozzy Osbourne, this hearse was built by the James Cunningham & Sons Company of Rochester, New York. It has a cathedral like coffin compartment featuring carved wood and has been owned by three generations of the Peterson family, owners of the Howe-Peterson Funeral Home business of Dearborn, Michigan. The firm was established in 1873 but is about to close down.

1941 Packard One-Eighty Convertible Victoria by Darrin – £302,800 to £343,200 ($375,000 to $425,000, €354,300 to €401,500 or درهم1.4 million to درهم1.6 million)

Finished in cream over saddle leather with a dark chocolate canvas top and period-appropriate wide whitewall tyres, this striking convertible is described as being in “excellent driving condition”. It was delivered new to Houston, Texas and was the creation of Howard ‘Dutch’ Darrin (1897 – 1982), a polo playing airline owner turned automotive designer.

1967 Chevrolet Corvette 427/390 Coupé – £80,700 to £100,900 ($100,000 to $125,000, €75,600 to €118,100 or درهم293,800 to درهم459,100)

“One of the most special Corvettes ever made”, this Marlboro Red coupé is presented in original and unrestored condition. It has only had two owners from new and has covered just 27,000 miles in its fifty year life.

1992 AM General M998 Humvee – £12,100 to £16,200 ($15,000 to $20,000, €14,200 to €18,900 or درهم55,100 to درهم73,500)

Featuring a 6.5-litre engine and definitely something Arnold Schwarzenegger would love, this cargo-troop carrier has a gross vehicle weight rating of 3.9-tonnes. It certainly could go anywhere and requires “no further demilitarization”.

April 10, 2017
Billionaire Battersea

Historic Battersea mansion for sale for the same sum it was marketed for in 2011; it has been mostly empty throughout the intervening period and was renovated by the late billionaire Malcolm Forbes

Billionaire publisher Malcolm Forbes was a man who liked to live large. He had a huge yacht named The Highlander, threw lavish parties across the globe and counted Gianni Agnelli, Gordon Getty, Calvin Klein, Robert Maxwell, Rupert Murdoch, Henry Kissinger, Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump as friends. This “mysterious collector” also owned numerous residences and one of these, Old Battersea House in London, is for sale for the same sum as it was marketed for in 2011.

Often seen with Elizabeth Taylor at his side and described as “living life in the fabulous”, Forbes purchased Old Battersea House in 1971. It had previously been home to and saved from demolition by Battersea Council by the eccentric author and ghost hunter Wilhemina Stirling. She took up a lifetime tenancy on the building in 1931 and used it to house artworks by her sister, Evelyn de Morgan (1855 – 1919).

Businessman and publisher Malcolm S. Forbes (1919 – 1990) with seven times married actress Dame Elizabeth Taylor DBE (1932 – 2011) at his lavish 70th birthday party at the Palais Mendoub, Tangier, Morocco in 1989

Old Battersea House, 30 Vicarage Crescent, Battersea, London, SW11 3LD, United Kingdom

A. M. D. Wilhemina Stirling (1865 – 1965) owned the house prior to Malcolm Forbes

Christopher ‘Kip’ Forbes (born 1951) assisted his father restore Old Battersea House and later oversaw the family selling its art collection in 2003 and 2009

Grade II* listed since 1954 and adapted during Forbes and subsequently his son Kip’s ownership to showcase a vast collection of Victorian art and antiques, Old Battersea House was built on Tudor foundations in 1699 and was at first known as ‘Terrace House’. It originally had gardens extending down to the River Thames and is rumoured to have been designed by Sir Christopher Wren (1632 – 1723).

Featuring “handsome classical proportions throughout” and standing within a 110-foot wide walled garden, the 10,100 square foot house includes 4 reception rooms, 10 double bedrooms and 7 bathrooms. It has off-street parking and a garden store but it is sadly overlooked by the adjoining housing estate that was built in its grounds in the 1930s.

Savills seek £12 million ($15 million, €14 million or درهم54.9 million) for Old Battersea House.

The impressive hallway of Old Battersea House

Another entertaining space

Elizabeth Taylor and her then husband Larry Fortensky at Old Battersea House in 1992

Images of the house as it was furnished during the ownership of the Forbes family

April 6, 2017