The Steeple Times

Tag: Harrods

  • No Room To Swing A Cat – £250k For Overpriced 109 Square Foot Knightsbridge Flat

    No Room To Swing A Cat – £250k For Overpriced 109 Square Foot Knightsbridge Flat

    Tiny, overpriced studio ‘flatlet’ lacking room to even swing a cat in somewhat ‘shady’ building opposite Harrods in Knightsbridge unsurprisingly remains on sale for the not so tiny sum of £250,000 after 3 years on the market reports Matthew Steeples

    • Prison cell-like 109 square foot ‘flatlet’ in Brompton Road, Knightsbridge for sale for staggering £250,000; national minimum allowable size for a flat since 2011 is 398 square foot.
    • Brompton Road is one of London’s most polluted roads; the Brompton Oratory, one of the highway’s main landmarks, was used as a ‘dead letter drop box’ by Soviet spies during the Cold War.
    • Nearby now defunct Brompton Road London Underground station became the control centre for the 26th(London) Anti-Aircraft Brigade during the Second World War.
    • Ritzy department store Harrods, directly opposite, stands on a 5 acre site and was sold to the Qatar Investment Authority for £1.5 billion by alleged abuser of 200 women Mohamed Al-Fayed in 2010.

    Listed initially at £275,000 in December 2022 but now slashed to a still stupendous £250,000 after failing to get flogged, Grow Portfolio estate agents are hawking a minute and clearly overpriced 109 square foot studio flat in Brompton Road, Knightsbridge as a “fantastic base” and “excellent opportunity”. If the ask price were to be achieved, the vendor would earn themselves a very punchy return of £2,294 per square foot; the median average price for this part of London, SW3 has been a significantly lower £1,610 per square foot during 2025.

     

    Offered on a lease of approximately 169 years and having a service charge of “approximately’ £1,000 per annum to include the assistance of a 24-hour concierge, a buyer will garner themselves a single room measuring 6 feet by 11’9” feet with a small adjoining shower room also. The 70 square foot room itself has tiled flooring, a window, a cupboard housing a microwave and cooking hob and a minute fold-down table also. There’s frankly nowt much else to say about it further than in November, the Evening Standard lauded its décor for being a “clinical white” achromatic scheme.

     

    A floor plan shows the very limited scope of the accommodation offered. Tax dodging tennis legend Boris Becker produced a son after a ‘bonk’ in a broom cupboard at the Metropolitan Hotel; given his size now, he might struggle with such activity in this space today.
    A floor plan shows the very limited scope of the accommodation offered. Tax dodging tennis legend Boris Becker produced a son after a ‘bonk’ in a broom cupboard at the Metropolitan Hotel; given his size now, he might struggle with such activity in this space today.
    It’s rare that a property can be entirely shown with just a single photo; in this case, it most definitely can.
    It’s rare that a property can be entirely shown with just a single photo; in this case, it most definitely can.
    In this watercolour by Cyril Farey (1888 – 1954), which Manning Fine Art describe as “capturing Princes Court at its prime”, the golden era of a building is shown. The art dealers observe: “[This] is not merely an architectural drawing it is expressing a lifestyle that only an apartment in Princes Court can provide. As such the fashionable and modern apartment block is surrounded by a Mediterranean blue sky and Hyde Park peaks out from the sides as an Eden of lush green. The smart street is punctuated by smart, friendly, yellow awnings whilst classic, stylish cars and iconic London buses pass by.” The same cannot sadly be said of the setting today given this part of Brompton Road has become better known for housing hookers, Rolex robberies and chronic pollution.
    In this watercolour by Cyril Farey (1888 – 1954), which Manning Fine Art describe as “capturing Princes Court at its prime”, the golden era of a building is shown. The art dealers observe: “[This] is not merely an architectural drawing it is expressing a lifestyle that only an apartment in Princes Court can provide. As such the fashionable and modern apartment block is surrounded by a Mediterranean blue sky and Hyde Park peaks out from the sides as an Eden of lush green. The smart street is punctuated by smart, friendly, yellow awnings whilst classic, stylish cars and iconic London buses pass by.” The same cannot sadly be said of the setting today given this part of Brompton Road has become better known for housing hookers, Rolex robberies and chronic pollution.

    Designed to “resemble an ocean liner” by architect George Valentine Myer (1883 – 1959) between 1934 and 1935, the building in which the studio flat is to be found, Princes Court at 88 Brompton Road, SW3 1ES, was originally named Knight’s Court. This large steel-framed block of 94 flats with 9 retail premises on the ground and first floors directly opposite Harrods began life as “a popular and exclusive place to live”, but in recent years has become more commonly used for Airbnbs and by ‘ladies (and gents) of a certain profession of the night’.

     

    Of the apartment complex, a past resident complained to The Steeple Times: “I did not live there long as I could not even open the windows in the summer due to the pollution and traffic noise from supercars revving in the summer on the Brompton Road. The ‘bedroom banging activity’ from my clearly-a-hooker neighbour did not help me sleep at night either.”

     

    No-longer-so-ritzy Princes Court previously hit the headlines in 2012 when an 84 square foot studio flat went on sale for £89,950, in 2021 when a 128 square foot offering sold for £325,000 and in 2022 when an 88 square foot studio – in spite of lacking even a lavatory and without any kind kitchen – was auctioned with a guide price of £175,000. A two bedroomed flat extending to 877 square feet on the ninth floor of the building is currently being touted by Harrods Estates at a guide price of £1.3 million.

     

    Given the spoof website supporting the homeless charity Shelter that is the National Institute of Feline Orbital Studies (NIFOS) calculates that 78.54 square foot is required to swing an ‘average’ cat and that it would cost £158,180 to “buy enough space to swing a cat in SW3”, the 109 square foot flat offered by Grow Portfolio has not only not enough room to swing a cat, but would not even adhere to the government’s technical housing standards if it were a new build property. The minimum today required to meet regulations is 398 square foot, meaning that this poxy pad falls 72% short of that sum; these regulations do not apply to buildings constructed prior to 2011.

     

    Fair warning to whoever purchases this ‘flatlet’ suitable only for someone seriously slim: In February 1988, an actual broom cupboard measuring 5’6” feet by 11 feet “with not even a cooker” in Princes Court sold for £36,500 (the equivalent of £102,500 today) during what Pete May termed an “obscene property boom” in his 2012 book Rent Boy. The self-professed “punk-turned-journalist who spent 20 years falling off the property ladder’ added: “Even I wouldn’t live in that. Yet it was recommended as a purchase for ‘those who like eating out’.”

     

    Within months of the cupboard sale, the economy tanked and studio flats, given their limited appeal, were the very first properties to see their values plummet. In 2025, with Rachel Reeves ‘Queen of Thieves’ having her grubby mitts on the nation’s tiller, this is probably not the time to be shelling out £250,000 for what the “honest estate agent” and Brothel in Pimlico author Roy Brooks would have likely marketed as a ‘broom cupboard in a brothel building in Knightsbridge’. At this time, perhaps, ‘buyer best beware’ would better be borrowed.

     

    Curious facts about Brompton Road

    Landmarks of Brompton Road Knightsbridge
    • The area of ‘Brompton’ dates to the 15th century and originates from the name ‘Brokendon’ – meaning “a place near a brook”.
    • The road itself starts at Knightsbridge Underground station and ends at the crossroad intersection known as ‘Brompton Cross’ where Fulham Road begins. It is thought to have ‘officially’ first been designated as ‘Brompton Road’ in 1863 on land originally owned by the Moreaus, a wealthy French Huguenot family.
    • Brompton Road is one of London’s most polluted highways due to heavy traffic, especially from diesel vehicles. In 2013, the London Assembly claimed pedestrians were being “showered in dangerous airborne particles” on this road identified as having NO2 levels massively exceeding World Health Organization guidelines.
    • Between 1906 and 1934, passengers on the Piccadilly London Underground line were able to alight at Brompton Road tube station. It was closed due to being surprisingly little used, but served as the command centre of the 26th (London) Anti-Aircraft Brigade during the Second World War. During this period, the tunnels, subways and lift-shafts were adapted to provide bomb-proof accommodation and in 2014, the site was sold to Dmytro Firtash, a billionaire Ukrainian businessman for £53 million. His plans to convert the 28,000 square foot site into residential accommodation have still not come to fruition.
    • The best-known retail landmark on Brompton Road is Harrods department store. It stands on a site that covers an astounding 5 acres in total and includes 1.1 million square feet of retailing space.
    • Famous customers of the store, which first opened in its present form in 1894, have included Agatha Christie, Beatrix Potter, Oscar Wilde and Asma al-Assad, the wife of the former President of Syria. She used an alias to shop there in order to get around European Union sanctions that froze the assets of her and her husband.
    • In 1898, Harrods debuted Britain’s first ‘moving staircase’ (or what we now term an ‘escalator’). At the top, “nervous” customers were offered brandy to revive them from the “ordeal” of their ride, The Drapers’ Record reported at the time.
    • Harrods was bombed by the IRA in 1983 and 1993. The first attack killed 6 people and the second injured 4.
    • The store was bought by the now late alleged serial sex offender Mohamed Al-Fayed in 1985. The ‘Phony Pharaoh’, as the Egyptian was nicknamed, is said to have abused at least 200 women on the premises during his ownership. He sold the business to the Qatar Investment Authority for an astounding £1.5 billion in 2010 and died in 2023 without ever having been brought to justice.
    • In 2022, Apple opened a store on the road in what was once the Brompton Arcade. It is staffed by over 200 employees, or as the tech giant prefers to call them – team members.
    • Another major landmark, and a building like Harrods complete with a dome, is the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This Catholic parish church is better known as the Brompton Oratory and also referenced as the London Oratory.
    • Consecrated in 1884, the church was where ‘Master of Suspense’ Sir Alfred Hitchcock married Alma Reville in 1933 and it is said to have inspired Nick Cave to write the song Brompton Oratory in 1997.
    • During the Cold War, this ornately decorated church was used as a ‘dead letter drop’ (or ‘DLD’ to those in the know) by Soviet agents in Britain. Spies would visit the church and place documents and microfilm behind one of the pillars for later collection by their compatriots; the location suited given the building’s proximity to the Russian embassy and as Harrods was a suitable rabbit warren for losing a tail if they thought they were being followed.
    • Standing behind the Brompton Oratory and accessed from Brompton Road is Holy Trinity Church, Brompton. ‘HTB Brompton’, as it is now generally referenced, stands on a site of 3.5 acres and is now one of the primary sites for the teaching of the Alpha course programme that focuses on “the evangelization of the nations, the revitalization of the church and the transformation of society.’

     

    Further photographs of the £250,000 Princes Court flatlet

    The kitchen facilities would not exactly excite Gordon Ramsay.
    The kitchen facilities would not exactly excite Gordon Ramsay.
    The shower room is modern and clean; there’s not much further to say further than that.
    The shower room is modern and clean; there’s not much further to say further than that.
    Both the shower room and ‘studio’ room have windows; a ‘Brucie bonus’ for sure.
    Both the shower room and ‘studio’ room have windows; a ‘Brucie bonus’ for sure.
    A view of the ‘studio’ towards the door; most prison cells are bigger than the space offered here.
    A view of the ‘studio’ towards the door; most prison cells are bigger than the space offered here.
    If you bought the studio offered and needed to host a visitor, you could do so in the lobby of Princes Court. It’s got seating and space aplenty in comparison to the ‘flatlet’ itself.
    If you bought the studio offered and needed to host a visitor, you could do so in the lobby of Princes Court. It’s got seating and space aplenty in comparison to the ‘flatlet’ itself.
    Princes Court (here partly shrouded in scaffolding) is literally opposite Harrods, undoubtedly one of the most famous department stores in the world.
    Princes Court (here partly shrouded in scaffolding) is literally opposite Harrods, undoubtedly one of the most famous department stores in the world.
    The rear of Princes Court with Harrods department store behind and the store’s former depository, now apartments also, to the right.
    The rear of Princes Court with Harrods department store behind and the store’s former depository, now apartments also, to the right.
  • An Airhead’s Tardis – Hidden House In Knightsbridge Once Home To Donna Air For Sale For £14.5 Million

    An Airhead’s Tardis – Hidden House In Knightsbridge Once Home To Donna Air For Sale For £14.5 Million

    Tardis-like hidden house in Knightsbridge once home to ‘airhead’ Donna Air – who once amusingly asked The Corrs: “Where did you all meet?” – for sale for £14.5 million (or 383% more than it was ‘worth’ in 2003)

    Update, Thursday 4th April 2024 – Internal images removed at insistence of Annabel Edney, associate PR, Savills.

     

    The ‘cheap wing’ of one of Knightsbridge’s landmark churches, St Saviour’s, has gone on sale for a not-insubstantial sum of £14.5 million after the more ‘expensive wing’ was marketed for the very punchy sum of £55 million in 2019 and the still somewhat punchy sum of £44 million in 2020.

     

    The deceptively Tardis-like Hastings House in Walton Street is a ‘blink-and-you’ll-miss-it’ home from the pavement. It is entered through a small door to the side of a church that was reduced in size to accommodate the vast 12,102 square foot St Saviour’s House and the new-build in 1999 property of 5,261 square foot now offered by agents Savills.

     

    Actress and presenter Donna Air – who once hilariously asked the siblings that formed The Corrs: “Where did you all meet?” during an interview – numbers amongst the well-known ‘names’ to have lived in the house. This likeable lady shared the property with her wealthy conservationist then partner Damian Aspinall and even operated her even more hilariously named company (since dissolved) Airhead And Money Limited from the address.

     

    Occupied also variously by a fast-living, Bugatti driving oil trader named Pierre Andurand and the controversial Italian sports manager Pierandrea Semeraro, the three-storey residence is centred around a “serene” private courtyard and includes 2 reception rooms, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and a rather impressive roof terrace.

     

    Savills describe the freehold house as “opulent” and laud “one of the crowning jewels of the residence,” its underground pool, as a “hidden gem” in the basement; perhaps Sharon Corr and her siblings could hold a reunion there.

     

    Editor’s note – Unlike as is the case in many publications, this article was NOT sponsored or supported by a third-party. Follow Matthew Steeples on Twitter at @M_Steeples and watch his current nightly show on YouTube at 8.30pm daily.

     

    A message from our editorial team – Thank you for reading this article. We’re more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus and the cost-of-living crisis impacts our advertisers. If you haven’t already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by supporting our work via Patreon.

     

    James Middleton Donna Air Victoria Fisher Damian Aspinall
    Actress and presenter Donna Air and conservationist Damian Aspinall with James Middleton – Air’s partner between 2013 and 2018 – and Victoria Fisher – whom Aspinall married in 2016. Aspinall and Air were an item between 2000 and 2007. Donna Air’s most famous moment on the telly box was summed up in an interview with Sharon Corr of the Celtic pop band The Corrs. Of the encounter, Corr stated: “We did a live television interview with Donna Air. Her opening question was: ‘So, where did you all meet?’ I looked at my brother and sisters and our hearts sank. If that was the opening question, it could only go downhill from there. It was clear that she knew absolutely nothing about us.”
    Pierre Andurand and Pierandrea Smeraro
    Oil trading tycoon Pierre Andurand and sports tycoon Pierandrea Semeraro have also both been listed at the address in Companies House records. How long each of the men lived at the property is unknown.

    The Names & Numbers – Hastings House, Walton Place, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1SA, United Kingdom

    March 2024 – Offered for sale as an “ultra-cool freehold house” by William Duckworth-Chad and Alex Christian of Savills for £14.5 million ($18.3 million, €17 million or درهم67.2 million) – an asking price 123% higher than the asking price 20 years ago in March 2004 and 383% higher than the quoted worth in May 2003 – and described by Robb Report’s Abigail Montanez as a “stately London home hiding in plain sight… in the affluent Knightsbridge neighbourhood.”

     

    April 2012 – Richard Compton Miller for The Standard bizarrely contradicts previous evidence and suggests Damian Aspinall and Donna Air “recently moved into [the] converted church.” It can only be assumed he was regurgitating somewhat outdated parish news.

     

    April 2010 – Listed as the address of French “entrepreneur” Pierre Andurand on his appointment as a director of Andurand Events Limited company. The company ultimately was dissolved on 28th June 2011 after a compulsory strike-off.

     

    Aixe-en-Provence born Mr Andurand is listed on Wikipedia as a “businessman and hedge fund manager” who was educated at the University of Oxford. This twice married “leader” of Andurand Capital has variously been listed as a “star trader,” an “oil trading wildcard” and someone who operates with “no set risk limits.” World Top Investors list this kickboxing enthusiast as “the comeback kid, the hotshot trader living the jock-bro dream, driving a Bugatti supercar, a Knightsbridge townhouse, and a trophy wife Russian model.”

     

    23rd January 2007 – A planning application submitted by the Italian sports manager Pierandrea Semeraro concerning the property is approved.

     

    Mr Semeraro is listed on Wikipedia as having been the president of the Sports Union Lecce from 2006 to 2010. He was subsequently banned and disqualified after an investigation into a football betting scandal.

     

    November 2006 – Planning application submitted to make various alterations to Hastings House by a firm named Stanhope Gate including the addition of skylights.

     

    April 2004 – Described by the Daily Mail’s Adam Helliker as being the “weekday… converted church” home where “daughter of a bus mechanic from Newcastle” who “has, by all accounts, rather taken to the life of luxury” Donna Air “busies herself with acting lessons, acupuncture, shiatsu and stints with her personal trainer.”

     

    March 2004 – Featured once again by The Observer’s Ben Flanagan after going on sale for the far higher than he’d previously mentioned sum of £6.5 million ($8.2 million, €7.6 million or درهم30.1 million) through the rather ritzy realtors Aylesford.

     

    Of it, Flanagan enthused:

     

    “Behind a discreet doorway on an exclusive Knightsbridge street lies this 5,250 sq ft home, which the estate agent describes as ‘one of London’s hidden gems.’”

     

    “You’d never guess the house was built in the 1990s as you wander through its elegant Italianate central courtyard to the neo-classical cloisters and drawing room. One clue, however, is the basement swimming pool and bar, which has a more modern – if a little Footballers’ Wives – look… ‘There’s an amazing ‘party pad’ feel to it,’ says a spokesman.”

     

    May 2003 – Described by The Observer’s Ben Flanagan as worth £3 million ($3.8 million, €3.5 million or درهم13.9 million) in a feature that mentions it being the home of actress Donna Air and zoo owning tycoon Damian Aspinall.

     

    28th July 2000 – Listed as the correspondence address of “presenter” Donna Air’s amusingly named “radio and television activities” company, Airhead And Money Limited. The company ultimately was dissolved on 1st March 2011 after a compulsory strike-off.

     

    1999 – Completion of Hastings House and St Saviour’s House by developers The Raven Group Limited.

     

    4th September 1998 – Full planning permission granted for the construction of Hastings House by the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. Of the planning history of the unlisted property then to be constructed, the council noted separately: “The subject site was formerly included within the ground of the St Saviour’s Church, which is a listed building, however following planning permission which was granted in August 1997 for the erection of the subject building, the subject site has been formally renumbered in 2001 as Hastings House and is considered as a separate planning unit to St Saviours Church.”

     

  • Hospitality vs. Headbangers

    Hospitality vs. Headbangers

    Legal challenge to Boris Johnson’s government’s completely illogical refusal to allow indoor hospitality venues to open whilst allowing indoor retail to open to be decided on this week

    In spite of venues with outdoor space being allowed to serve customers on their terraces and in gardens, the hospitality sector in the UK will continue to lose around £200 million per day until the government allows them to serve indoors in mid-May.

     

    This week, following a perfectly sensible legal challenge by Sacha Lord, the night-time economy adviser for Greater Manchester, and Hugh Osmond, the founder of Punch Taverns, the government could be forced to bring forward the date for indoor opening for bars, pubs and restaurants.

     

    Lord and Osmond together quite sensibly argue there is no justification or scientific basis for indoor hospitality to be kept closed for five additional weeks after non-essential retailers in England were allowed to serve customers indoors from 12th April. Their call is correct and the continuation of this illogical set of double standards is doing just one thing: Dealing another body blow to an already devastated sector.

     

    Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning of their challenge to the crackpot crazy decisions of borderline bonkers’ Boris Johnson’s Tory government, Osmond remarked:

     

    “This is something of a David versus Goliath battle. We are reassured that David won in that instance.”

     

    “At the start of this pandemic there was a totally understandable assumption that hospitality venues might be responsible for the spread of infections. The vision of drunken people in crowded pubs is an easy and obvious target that people understand.”

     

    “The data [now] definitively shows that hospitality was not the major source of infections.”

     

    Elsewhere on Twitter on Friday, Lord remarked: “The government’s defence is just in… They must be concerned, they’ve put their No. 1 legals on the case, Sir James Eadie QC, the First Treasury Counsel.”

     

    Going further this morning, he added: “Thank you for all the good luck messages. It’s not necessarily today, the Judge has said: ‘The week commencing the 19th.’ Again, a real long shot, but as soon as there’s news, I’ll post it here. Enjoy the sun.”

     

    Today, all at The Steeple Times join those supporting the logic of allowing indoor hospitality venues to reopen and reopen now. Let’s get the indoor show back on the road.

     

    Pictured top: Restaurants such as Fifty Cheyne in Chelsea, London have tables that are very clearly separated from one another. As shown in this image, diners can be socially distanced in a manner perfectly reasonable. Why shouldn’t such places – which lack outdoor dining areas and thus cannot even benefit from the currently allowed outdoor opening rules – not be able to get back to business whilst small, cramped shops with little-to-no precautionary measures are allowed to trade?

     

    Hospitality vs. Headbangers 2021 – Hospitality vs. Government – Legal challenge to Boris Johnson’s government’s illogical refusal to allow indoor hospitality venues open whilst allowing indoor retail to be decided on this week.
    Hospitality vs. Headbangers – Echoing scenes from December 2020 reported on in ‘The Steeple Times,’ on Sunday the ‘MailOnline’ reported on yet another swarm of maskless, tempestuous teenagers descending on Harrods on Saturday. Sharing the article on Twitter on Monday, Hugh Osmond remarked: “It is surely clear that all-seated, licensed hospitality venues, with table service only, cannot present more of a risk than non-essential retail… Open indoor hospitality now.”
    Hospitality vs. Headbangers 2021 – Hospitality vs. Government – Legal challenge to Boris Johnson’s government’s illogical refusal to allow indoor hospitality venues open whilst allowing indoor retail to be decided on this week.
    Hospitality vs. Headbangers – Giuseppe Turi, who owns Enoteca Turi on Pimlico Road, London, SW1 with his wife Pamela, is currently just serving people on his two outside tables “after loyal customers begged him to reopen,” the ‘Daily Star’ last week reported. Speaking to the ‘Mail on Sunday,’ Mr Turi added: “It doesn’t really make financial sense with just two tables, but our customers are so desperate to come back. We are now fully booked until May 17 when we can open inside. We are very excited to connect with our regulars again, but unfortunately we’ve not been able to accommodate everybody.” The chances of this business making a profit from such activity stand in the area of “zilch-zero-nothing,” but provide proof that it is businesses that are showing initiative and not the illogical, rudderless, incompetent government of Boris Johnson.
    Hospitality vs. Headbangers 2021 – Hospitality vs. Government – Legal challenge to Boris Johnson’s government’s illogical refusal to allow indoor hospitality venues open whilst allowing indoor retail to be decided on this week.
    Hospitality vs. Headbangers – Last October, Richard Caring, owner of many of London’s best-known high-end restaurants, stuck up two dummies of Boris Johnson (in spite of having previously given over £510,000 in donations to the Conservative Party previously). At the time of the lockdown then in place, Caring raged: “Make no mistake, this is a disastrous decision, taken by people who do not understand what terrible damage they are doing to the country.”
  • Help the Homeless in Lockup 3.0

    Help the Homeless in Lockup 3.0

    Matthew Steeples suggests the government has made progress with its decision to help the homeless in the UK during ‘Lockup 3.0’ – but it must go further

    On Christmas Eve, we featured the tragic story of Knightsbridge’s Brompton Road morphing into a ‘tent city’ for the homeless and now with a nationwide lockdown this January with ‘Lockup 3.0,’ it has become even more essential that these unfortunate people are given more help.

     

    This morning, for once, came good news in the Guardian in a report about the government telling councils to “redouble their efforts to house all rough sleepers, and make sure they are registered with a GP to enable them to receive a Covid vaccine over the next few weeks.”

     

    In addition to £10 million extra in funding as well, with the extension of the ban on evictions in all but the most extreme cases until at least 21st February also, for once, Robert Jenrick, the controversial communities secretary, has finally done something right.

     

    Of the decision, Jenrick remarked:

     

    “At the start of this pandemic we made sure that the most vulnerable in society were protected. This winter, we are continuing in this vein and redoubling our efforts to help those most in need.”

     

    Rightly acknowledged as a step in the right direction, in response, Jon Sparkes, CEO of the homeless charity Crisis, called the move a “lifesaving intervention [at the] most dangerous moment of the pandemic for those without a home.”

     

    As we said in December, remember this: One in three families are only one pay cheque away from losing their home; don’t think it couldn’t be you. Please be kind and considerate to the homeless and please join all urging this government to do more for such people during this dark, depressing, bleak winter.

     

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    Help the Homeless in Lockup 3.0 – New funds for homeless people – Matthew Steeples suggests the government has made progress with its decision to help the homeless in the UK during ‘Lockup 3.0’ – but it must go further.
    In December, ‘The Steeple Times’ reported on Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London SW3 – home to Harrods and the Brompton Oratory church amongst other things – becoming a homeless hub. That people are living in such conditions alongside such wealth during a pandemic brings shame upon us all, but most especially upon Boris Johnson’s rudderless government.
    In June 2020, ‘Vice’ shared a video by the homeless filmmaker David Fussell with its 13.7 million followers. In it, Fussell gave “an insight into how the coronavirus epidemic has affected the homeless.”
  • Knightsbridge – Tent City 2020

    Knightsbridge – Tent City 2020

    As Knightsbridge’s Brompton Road turns into a ‘tent city’ for the homeless, Matthew Steeples urges readers to support such people this Christmas

    In September 2019, The Steeple Times illustrated the tragic paradox between wealth and poverty in Belgravia with a picture of a passed out homeless man and today, just as most of our readers likely get ready to sit down tomorrow to a veritable feast in their warm residences, we sadly have to reveal that Knightsbridge has gone the same way.

     

    In a year when we also featured the story of a heartless Conservative councilor named Karen Rampton wanting to “fine homeless people for sleeping in doorways,” the area of Brompton Road, SW3 just beyond Harrods has turned into a tent city.

     

    Aside from a charming, aged Irishwoman living in the doorway of the shuttered Bunch of Grapes pub, there are a total of seven tents along this strip. It is truly sad to behold and we urge all our readers to leave something good for such people wherever and whenever you can.

     

    Remember this: One in three families are only one pay cheque away from losing their home; don’t think it couldn’t be you and please be kind and considerate.

     

    Pictured top: Contrasting wealth and poverty with one of Knightsbridge’s ‘Tent City’ residences set against a £300,000 Rolls-Royce Cullinan 4×4 speeding by behind it.

     

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    Knightsbridge – Tent City 2020 – Homeless tents Bromton Road, SW3 – As Knightsbridge’s Brompton Road turns into a ‘tent city’ for the homeless, Matthew Steeples urges readers to support such people this Christmas.
    Knightsbridge – Tent City 2020 – A tent surrounded by rubbish situated on Brompton Road, London, SW3.
    Knightsbridge – Tent City 2020 – Homeless tents Bromton Road, SW3 – As Knightsbridge’s Brompton Road turns into a ‘tent city’ for the homeless, Matthew Steeples urges readers to support such people this Christmas.
    Knightsbridge – Tent City 2020 – Another tent is located opposite The Bunch of Grapes pub and the now closed Lord’s Food & Wine store.
    Knightsbridge – Tent City 2020 – Homeless tents Bromton Road, SW3 – As Knightsbridge’s Brompton Road turns into a ‘tent city’ for the homeless, Matthew Steeples urges readers to support such people this Christmas.
    Knightsbridge – Tent City 2020 – Further tents are to be found in Beaufort Gardens, a street where Firmdale Hotels operate the Knightsbridge Hotel, a chi-chi “luxury property” where rooms cost upwards “from £447 per night” this Christmas.
  • A Cottage or a Car Space?

    A Cottage or a Car Space?

    Detached Georgian cottage in Wales goes on for sale for a sum 64% lower than a single parking space in a basement in Knightsbridge

    In Knightsbridge right now, Harrods Estates are offering what they term a “spacious” car parking space for the astonishing sum of £225,000 ($302,000, €250,000 or درهم1.1 million) in spite of it having a column intruding into it.

     

    The 8’2” by 15’7” underground space is situated within a building opposite Harrods’ Basil Street entrance and is only available for purchase by those living within a 1,300-foot radius of it. It is held on a lease with 83 years remaining and is subject to a service charge of £743.22 per annum ($1,000, €825 or درهم3,700 per annum).

     

    Whilst this seems surprisingly cheap compared to the £375,000 ($484,000, €448,000 or درهم1.8 million) single space in nearby Ennismore Gardens we featured in February, elsewhere, for those looking to park a lot less money into a serious renovation project, agents Dai Lewis are about to auction what appears from the exterior to be a “quaint” Georgian cottage. Built as an estate manager’s cottage in the late 1700s, 4-bedroom Penbont, near Llandysul in Ceredigion, Wales stands in private gardens adjoining the River Teifi and National Trust woodland, but literally is collapsing inside.

     

    To bid for Penbont in the forthcoming Auction House South Wales sale, click here. Bidding opens on 14th December at 12 noon and ends on the 16th December at 12:02pm. An opening bid of £79,000 ($106,000, €88,000 or درهم390,000) has been set.

     

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    A Cottage or a Car Space? £79,000 cottage vs. £225,000 car space – Detached Georgian cottage in Wales goes on for sale for a sum 64% lower than a single parking space in a basement in Knightsbridge – £79,000 for Penbont, Henllan, Llandysul, Ceredigion, SA44 5TE, Wales, United Kingdom through Dai Lewis – £225,000 for Space K8, B2, Basil Street Car Park, Basil Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 car park space through Harrods Estates.
    The extremely punchily priced Basil Street car park space is entered via a ramp next to Harry’s Dolce Vita.
    A Cottage or a Car Space? £79,000 cottage vs. £225,000 car space – Detached Georgian cottage in Wales goes on for sale for a sum 64% lower than a single parking space in a basement in Knightsbridge – £79,000 for Penbont, Henllan, Llandysul, Ceredigion, SA44 5TE, Wales, United Kingdom through Dai Lewis – £225,000 for Space K8, B2, Basil Street Car Park, Basil Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 car park space through Harrods Estates.
    The space is rather limited in that it is intruded upon by a bloody great pillar. You do, however, get a rather swish Rolls-Royce adjoining whatever you park there.
    A Cottage or a Car Space? £79,000 cottage vs. £225,000 car space – Detached Georgian cottage in Wales goes on for sale for a sum 64% lower than a single parking space in a basement in Knightsbridge – £79,000 for Penbont, Henllan, Llandysul, Ceredigion, SA44 5TE, Wales, United Kingdom through Dai Lewis – £225,000 for Space K8, B2, Basil Street Car Park, Basil Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 car park space through Harrods Estates.
    Thankfully for the purchaser, Julian Assange has long left the adjoining apartment block.
    A Cottage or a Car Space? £79,000 cottage vs. £225,000 car space – Detached Georgian cottage in Wales goes on for sale for a sum 64% lower than a single parking space in a basement in Knightsbridge – £79,000 for Penbont, Henllan, Llandysul, Ceredigion, SA44 5TE, Wales, United Kingdom through Dai Lewis – £225,000 for Space K8, B2, Basil Street Car Park, Basil Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 car park space through Harrods Estates.
    The cottage appears initially quaint in this image.
    A Cottage or a Car Space? £79,000 cottage vs. £225,000 car space – Detached Georgian cottage in Wales goes on for sale for a sum 64% lower than a single parking space in a basement in Knightsbridge – £79,000 for Penbont, Henllan, Llandysul, Ceredigion, SA44 5TE, Wales, United Kingdom through Dai Lewis – £225,000 for Space K8, B2, Basil Street Car Park, Basil Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 car park space through Harrods Estates.
    The Welsh cottage literally is full of junk and rather lacking in first floor flooring.
    A Cottage or a Car Space? £79,000 cottage vs. £225,000 car space – Detached Georgian cottage in Wales goes on for sale for a sum 64% lower than a single parking space in a basement in Knightsbridge – £79,000 for Penbont, Henllan, Llandysul, Ceredigion, SA44 5TE, Wales, United Kingdom through Dai Lewis – £225,000 for Space K8, B2, Basil Street Car Park, Basil Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 car park space through Harrods Estates.
    There are plenty of old sofas – though nobody other than Onslow from ‘Keeping Up Appearances’ would want to sit on them.
    A Cottage or a Car Space? £79,000 cottage vs. £225,000 car space – Detached Georgian cottage in Wales goes on for sale for a sum 64% lower than a single parking space in a basement in Knightsbridge – £79,000 for Penbont, Henllan, Llandysul, Ceredigion, SA44 5TE, Wales, United Kingdom through Dai Lewis – £225,000 for Space K8, B2, Basil Street Car Park, Basil Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 car park space through Harrods Estates.
    The late Laura Ashley wouldn’t exactly rave about the curtains.
    A Cottage or a Car Space? £79,000 cottage vs. £225,000 car space – Detached Georgian cottage in Wales goes on for sale for a sum 64% lower than a single parking space in a basement in Knightsbridge – £79,000 for Penbont, Henllan, Llandysul, Ceredigion, SA44 5TE, Wales, United Kingdom through Dai Lewis – £225,000 for Space K8, B2, Basil Street Car Park, Basil Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 car park space through Harrods Estates.
    The staircase is unbelievably intact, but a purchaser would be advised to do something about the wall coverings in the hallway.
    A Cottage or a Car Space? £79,000 cottage vs. £225,000 car space – Detached Georgian cottage in Wales goes on for sale for a sum 64% lower than a single parking space in a basement in Knightsbridge – £79,000 for Penbont, Henllan, Llandysul, Ceredigion, SA44 5TE, Wales, United Kingdom through Dai Lewis – £225,000 for Space K8, B2, Basil Street Car Park, Basil Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 car park space through Harrods Estates.
    The kitchen has an original range, but somebody plainly nicked its doors.
    A Cottage or a Car Space? £79,000 cottage vs. £225,000 car space – Detached Georgian cottage in Wales goes on for sale for a sum 64% lower than a single parking space in a basement in Knightsbridge – £79,000 for Penbont, Henllan, Llandysul, Ceredigion, SA44 5TE, Wales, United Kingdom through Dai Lewis – £225,000 for Space K8, B2, Basil Street Car Park, Basil Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 car park space through Harrods Estates.
    Those liking double height rooms might feel at home in this space.
    A Cottage or a Car Space? £79,000 cottage vs. £225,000 car space – Detached Georgian cottage in Wales goes on for sale for a sum 64% lower than a single parking space in a basement in Knightsbridge – £79,000 for Penbont, Henllan, Llandysul, Ceredigion, SA44 5TE, Wales, United Kingdom through Dai Lewis – £225,000 for Space K8, B2, Basil Street Car Park, Basil Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 car park space through Harrods Estates.
    More recently it was boarded up and resembles a scene from ‘Midsomer Murders.’
    A Cottage or a Car Space? £79,000 cottage vs. £225,000 car space – Detached Georgian cottage in Wales goes on for sale for a sum 64% lower than a single parking space in a basement in Knightsbridge – £79,000 for Penbont, Henllan, Llandysul, Ceredigion, SA44 5TE, Wales, United Kingdom through Dai Lewis – £225,000 for Space K8, B2, Basil Street Car Park, Basil Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 car park space through Harrods Estates.
    An outbuilding that isn’t much use to man nor ornament.
    A Cottage or a Car Space? £79,000 cottage vs. £225,000 car space – Detached Georgian cottage in Wales goes on for sale for a sum 64% lower than a single parking space in a basement in Knightsbridge – £79,000 for Penbont, Henllan, Llandysul, Ceredigion, SA44 5TE, Wales, United Kingdom through Dai Lewis – £225,000 for Space K8, B2, Basil Street Car Park, Basil Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 car park space through Harrods Estates.
    Plainly, the current owner has a desire to stop gypsy caravans parking.
    A Cottage or a Car Space? £79,000 cottage vs. £225,000 car space – Detached Georgian cottage in Wales goes on for sale for a sum 64% lower than a single parking space in a basement in Knightsbridge – £79,000 for Penbont, Henllan, Llandysul, Ceredigion, SA44 5TE, Wales, United Kingdom through Dai Lewis – £225,000 for Space K8, B2, Basil Street Car Park, Basil Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 car park space through Harrods Estates.
    The setting is indeed idyllic, but one needs to be careful of runaway drunk drivers on a Friday
  • Tempestuous Teenage Swarm Savages SW3

    Tempestuous Teenage Swarm Savages SW3

    Swarm of tempestuous teenagers descend on Brompton Road, SW3 and end up in a maskless face-off with 200 police officers

    In August 2018, a swarm of Arabs descended on Brompton Road. Though many residents objected to their noisy cars, some were polite and apologetic about blocking the pavements, but yesterday came another mass gathering that was even more ridiculous.

     

    The immediate area around Harrods, but also including the section of Brompton Road adjacent to kiddie favourite McDonald’s, on a soppy Saturday in December would normally attract families Christmas shopping and parents headed to Pizza Express, Beauchamp Place on “nanny’s day off.”

     

    Tempestuous Teenage Swarm Savages SW3 – Harrods raid by mob – Mob of tempestuous teenagers descend on Brompton Road, SW3 and end up in a maskless face-off with 200 police officers.
    Tempestuous Teenage Swarm Savages SW3 – The mob of youngsters gathered outside Harrods late Saturday afternoon.

    Yesterday, however, in spite of COVID-19, instead, the district was invaded by a mob of strangely dressed teenagers, some of them covered in glitter and all of them avoiding social distancing guidelines. These potty mouthed pillocks not only – as the likes of The Sun reported – tried to “force their way into [Harrods]” but also went on the rampage in local stores such as Waitrose, Brompton Road. Eventually, police descended and formed “a protective ring around the posh store.”

     

    Of what occurred in Waitrose, which eventually was forced to close its doors to prevent the lunatics that were running amok doing damage, a well-known local grande dame pointedly told The Steeple Times:

     

    “I simply came here to buy some avocados and I’m faced with this [pointing at an unmasked Kappa clad kiddie]. I’m not a snob, but this is Waitrose Knightsbridge; the customers are normally Sloanes not slops and slobs!”

     

    Pictured top: Police formed a ‘ring of steel’ to prevent the teenage mob gain entry to Harrods; three makeup caked youngsters whom were evicted from Waitrose, Brompton Road for screaming expletives at the staff.

     

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    Tempestuous Teenage Swarm Savages SW3 – Harrods raid by mob – Mob of tempestuous teenagers descend on Brompton Road, SW3 and end up in a maskless face-off with 200 police officers.
    One Twitter user announced: “Harrods is under attack, I repeat, Harrods is under attack!”
    Tempestuous Teenage Swarm Savages SW3 – Harrods raid by mob – Mob of tempestuous teenagers descend on Brompton Road, SW3 and end up in a maskless face-off with 200 police officers.
    Many made suggestions about the origins of the participants, whilst another wanted water cannons sent in.
    Tempestuous Teenage Swarm Savages SW3 – Harrods raid by mob – Mob of tempestuous teenagers descend on Brompton Road, SW3 and end up in a maskless face-off with 200 police officers.
    Of the “craziness,” this tweet suggested: “Covid spike inbound!”
    Tempestuous Teenage Swarm Savages SW3 – Harrods raid by mob – Mob of tempestuous teenagers descend on Brompton Road, SW3 and end up in a maskless face-off with 200 police officers.
    “Your parents must be so proud” declared one Paul Smith of the “hundreds of intellectually challenged teenagers.”
    Tempestuous Teenage Swarm Savages SW3 – Harrods raid by mob – Mob of tempestuous teenagers descend on Brompton Road, SW3 and end up in a maskless face-off with 200 police officers.
    “A whole load of baddies” concluded this Twitter user of the “riot police everywhere” scene.
  • Moron of the Moment – Gordon Ramsay

    Moron of the Moment – Gordon Ramsay

    That Gordon Ramsay thinks it acceptable to start selling burgers at £80 a pop at a time of economic meltdown confirms him as a cretin

    When he was not offensively mouthing off on our telly boxes during the last lockup, Gordon Ramsay spent the summer in Cornwall pissing off permanent residents during the coronavirus lockdown. Now, at a time of complete economic meltdown, this petulant prat and prized pillock has gone one stage further and has announced he’s going to sell burgers for the staggeringly stupid sum of £80 each.

     

    Deservedly flung out of Claridge’s in February 2013 and responsible for wrecking the late, great Foxtrot Oscar by ripping out its heart and soul in 2007, rotten ratbag Ramsay now ludicrously plans to sell his utterly overpriced bits of beef in a bap in Harrods from the 4th December.

     

    Announcing the plans for ‘Gordon Ramsay Burger’ on Instagram, the completely out-of-touch with reality chef and all-round cretin stated: “I’m really excited to announce, I’m bringing the Gordon Ramsay Burger to Harrods in Knightsbridge for the first time ever.”

     

    The alleged philanderer continued: “Trust me, this is going to be a burger experience like no other as we’ve really elevated our patties using the most incredible mix of the UK’s best cuts of meat.”

     

    Chips are not even included in Ramsay’s con: They will set you back an extra £8 per portion whilst onion rings can be had for the ‘bargain’ sum of £7 a pop. Do note, they are at least “beer battered.”

     

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    Previously in April, Gordon Ramsay banged on about cooking burgers for frontline NHS workers. How on earth does he think they’d afford his ridiculous £80 a bap offering?
  • A Price-Cut Penthouse

    A Price-Cut Penthouse

    Vast Knightsbridge penthouse for sale for 27% less than in 2012 but extraordinarily 6,900% more than in 1999

    Constructed between 1961 and 1962 by builders Gilbert Ash, Collier House is not the most attractive structure in Knightsbridge externally. Whilst retailers Reiss and Nespresso – lucky residents get George Clooney’s ugly ‘mug’ stuck on the façade as a bonus (excuse the pun) – occupy the ground floor, the top floor ‘space’ was sold for the creation of a two-storey penthouse in 1999 for £230,000.

     

    A Price-Cut Penthouse – £16 million for Sixth and Seventh Floor Penthouse at Collier House, 163 – 169 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1PY, United Kingdom through Merchants Row – Vast Knightsbridge penthouse for sale for 27% less than the £22 million sum in 2012 but extraordinarily 6,900% more than the £230,000 sum in 1999. Near Harrods and Brompton Oratory.
    The exterior of the building in which the sixth and seventh floor penthouse is situated – Collier House, 163 – 169 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1PY.
    A Price-Cut Penthouse – £16 million for Sixth and Seventh Floor Penthouse at Collier House, 163 – 169 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1PY, United Kingdom through Merchants Row – Vast Knightsbridge penthouse for sale for 27% less than the £22 million sum in 2012 but extraordinarily 6,900% more than the £230,000 sum in 1999. Near Harrods and Brompton Oratory.
    The ground floor of the building is occupied by Reiss and Nespresso. A large image of actor George Clooney dominates the frontage of the latter.

    Developed to provide a 4,615 square foot duplex over two floors, the apartment is currently on the market for the considerably higher figure of £16 million through agents Merchants Row. It includes 2 reception rooms that are some 70-foot in length in total, a bar area, a media room, 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms and comes with wrap-around terraces with skyline views towards Harrods and the Brompton Oratory.

     

    From October 2014 to July 2019, the penthouse was the registered office of Elaph Publishing Limited. Founded in 2001 by Othman Al Omeir – a man “considered close to King Salman of Saudi Arabia” – Elaph is described as “the first daily Arabic independent online newspaper.” It has at various times been banned in both Saudi Arabia and Yemen and its former managing director was the EMMY award winning producer Nicholas Claxton.

     

    The long leasehold penthouse, which was offered for the even more outrageous sum of £22 million in November 2012, has direct lift access to the sixth floor and comes with secure underground parking. It is subject to a service charge of £10,800 per year, has been offered to rent for £10,000 per week previously and what the agents neglect to mention is that it is situated directly above one of London’s most polluted stretches of road.

     

    The Numbers – Collier House, 163 – 169 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1PY, United Kingdom

     

    April 2020 – For sale for £16 million ($20 million, €18.4 million or درهم73.4 million) through agents Merchants Row.

     

    November 2012 – For sale for £22 million ($27.5 million, €25.3 million or درهم101 million) through agents Wilfords.

     

    July 1999 – “As then was” space for penthouse sold for £230,000 ($287,000, €264,000 or درهم1.1 million) according to Land Registry records.

     

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    A Price-Cut Penthouse – £16 million for Sixth and Seventh Floor Penthouse at Collier House, 163 – 169 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1PY, United Kingdom through Merchants Row – Vast Knightsbridge penthouse for sale for 27% less than the £22 million sum in 2012 but extraordinarily 6,900% more than the £230,000 sum in 1999. Near Harrods and Brompton Oratory.
    A Price-Cut Penthouse – £16 million for Sixth and Seventh Floor Penthouse at Collier House, 163 – 169 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1PY, United Kingdom through Merchants Row – Vast Knightsbridge penthouse for sale for 27% less than the £22 million sum in 2012 but extraordinarily 6,900% more than the £230,000 sum in 1999. Near Harrods and Brompton Oratory.
    A Price-Cut Penthouse – £16 million for Sixth and Seventh Floor Penthouse at Collier House, 163 – 169 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1PY, United Kingdom through Merchants Row – Vast Knightsbridge penthouse for sale for 27% less than the £22 million sum in 2012 but extraordinarily 6,900% more than the £230,000 sum in 1999. Near Harrods and Brompton Oratory.
    A Price-Cut Penthouse – £16 million for Sixth and Seventh Floor Penthouse at Collier House, 163 – 169 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1PY, United Kingdom through Merchants Row – Vast Knightsbridge penthouse for sale for 27% less than the £22 million sum in 2012 but extraordinarily 6,900% more than the £230,000 sum in 1999. Near Harrods and Brompton Oratory.
    A Price-Cut Penthouse – £16 million for Sixth and Seventh Floor Penthouse at Collier House, 163 – 169 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1PY, United Kingdom through Merchants Row – Vast Knightsbridge penthouse for sale for 27% less than the £22 million sum in 2012 but extraordinarily 6,900% more than the £230,000 sum in 1999. Near Harrods and Brompton Oratory.
    A Price-Cut Penthouse – £16 million for Sixth and Seventh Floor Penthouse at Collier House, 163 – 169 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1PY, United Kingdom through Merchants Row – Vast Knightsbridge penthouse for sale for 27% less than the £22 million sum in 2012 but extraordinarily 6,900% more than the £230,000 sum in 1999. Near Harrods and Brompton Oratory.
    A Price-Cut Penthouse – £16 million for Sixth and Seventh Floor Penthouse at Collier House, 163 – 169 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1PY, United Kingdom through Merchants Row – Vast Knightsbridge penthouse for sale for 27% less than the £22 million sum in 2012 but extraordinarily 6,900% more than the £230,000 sum in 1999. Near Harrods and Brompton Oratory.
    A Price-Cut Penthouse – £16 million for Sixth and Seventh Floor Penthouse at Collier House, 163 – 169 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1PY, United Kingdom through Merchants Row – Vast Knightsbridge penthouse for sale for 27% less than the £22 million sum in 2012 but extraordinarily 6,900% more than the £230,000 sum in 1999. Near Harrods and Brompton Oratory.
    A Price-Cut Penthouse – £16 million for Sixth and Seventh Floor Penthouse at Collier House, 163 – 169 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1PY, United Kingdom through Merchants Row – Vast Knightsbridge penthouse for sale for 27% less than the £22 million sum in 2012 but extraordinarily 6,900% more than the £230,000 sum in 1999. Near Harrods and Brompton Oratory.
    A Price-Cut Penthouse – £16 million for Sixth and Seventh Floor Penthouse at Collier House, 163 – 169 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1PY, United Kingdom through Merchants Row – Vast Knightsbridge penthouse for sale for 27% less than the £22 million sum in 2012 but extraordinarily 6,900% more than the £230,000 sum in 1999. Near Harrods and Brompton Oratory.
    A Price-Cut Penthouse – £16 million for Sixth and Seventh Floor Penthouse at Collier House, 163 – 169 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1PY, United Kingdom through Merchants Row – Vast Knightsbridge penthouse for sale for 27% less than the £22 million sum in 2012 but extraordinarily 6,900% more than the £230,000 sum in 1999. Near Harrods and Brompton Oratory.
    A Price-Cut Penthouse – £16 million for Sixth and Seventh Floor Penthouse at Collier House, 163 – 169 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1PY, United Kingdom through Merchants Row – Vast Knightsbridge penthouse for sale for 27% less than the £22 million sum in 2012 but extraordinarily 6,900% more than the £230,000 sum in 1999. Near Harrods and Brompton Oratory.
    A Price-Cut Penthouse – £16 million for Sixth and Seventh Floor Penthouse at Collier House, 163 – 169 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1PY, United Kingdom through Merchants Row – Vast Knightsbridge penthouse for sale for 27% less than the £22 million sum in 2012 but extraordinarily 6,900% more than the £230,000 sum in 1999. Near Harrods and Brompton Oratory.
    A Price-Cut Penthouse – £16 million for Sixth and Seventh Floor Penthouse at Collier House, 163 – 169 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1PY, United Kingdom through Merchants Row – Vast Knightsbridge penthouse for sale for 27% less than the £22 million sum in 2012 but extraordinarily 6,900% more than the £230,000 sum in 1999. Near Harrods and Brompton Oratory.
  • A Corona Cut Church

    A Corona Cut Church

    Converted church in Knightsbridge has its asking price cut by £11 million during the coronavirus lockdown; its price is still 340% higher than it sold for in 2003

    In December, we featured the launch to the market of a £55 million property in Walton Street, Knightsbridge. Now, in the midst of London’s coronavirus lockdown, just three months later, that price has been cut by the staggering sum of £11 million.

     

    A Corona Cut Church – Knightsbridge church price cut by £11 million – Converted church in Knightsbridge has its asking price cut by £11 million during the coronavirus lockdown; its price is still 340% higher than it sold for in 2003 – St Saviour’s House, Walton Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1SA is for sale for £44 million down from £55 million through Knight Frank.
    Yours for £11 million less than in December 2019 – St Saviour’s House, Walton Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1SA.

    St Saviour’s House, as it is now known, forms one thirds of a church and its conversion to a 12,102 square foot house did not delight everyone. Of it, back in 2001, The Telegraph’s Anne Atkins went as far to say: “[It is a] ghastly temple to Mammon… It is so awful I hardly know where to begin… Not my idea of a cosy home… Hideous and tacky… I tried to imagine living with this… The monstrosity of it… Vile.”

     

    Knight Frank, who remain the selling agents, plainly still think otherwise and now market what they describe as an “extraordinary seven bedroom home” for £44 million. Referencing the pandemic directly, they add: “Owing to our commitment to keep both our colleagues and clients safe during this period of recommended isolation, we have many self-serve viewing options available to you. These include video walkthroughs, 360 virtual reality viewings and enhanced comprehensive photography.”

     

    To see more pictures of this most curious conversion, click here.

     

    The Numbers – St Saviour’s House, Walton Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW3 1SA

     

    April 2020 – Reduced in price to £44 million ($54 million, €50 million or درهم198 million).

     

    December 2019 – For sale for £55 million ($73 million, €66 million or درهم269 million).

     

    April 2014 – Sold to a Saudi businessman for £41 million ($55 million, €49 million or درهم201 million).

     

    2009 – Sold to a Thai businessman for £13.5 million ($18 million, €16 million or درهم66 million). An additional £10 million ($13.3 million, €12 million or درهم49 million) was spent on redevelopment.

     

    2003 – Bought by lyricist Alain Boublil for £10 million ($13.3 million, €12 million or درهم49 million).

     

    1998 – Half the church and the church hall sold by the Diocese of London for about £1.2 million ($1.6 million, €1.4 million or درهم5.9 million) for conversion into two dwellings. The central portion of the building retained as a place of worship.

     

    1837 – Plot on which entirety of St Saviour’s Church now sits sold for £300 or the equivalent of £33,000 today ($44,000, €40,000 or درهم162,000 today) to the Metropolitan Church Fund.

     

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