Tag: wealth

A Villa In The Sky

Gargantuan Mayfair aprtment goes on sale for £30 million; it has eighteen windows facing Hyde Park and is in a building designed by the architect of Broadcasting House

A vast maisonette, described as a “villa in the sky”, on London’s Park Lane has gone on sale for £30 million ($38.8 million, €34.6 million or درهم142.6 million) in spite of being in need of complete redecoration.

Split over the seventh and eighth floor of a portered building named Fountain House, the apartment offered extends to 6,897 square foot and includes 4 reception rooms, 2 kitchens, 10 double bedrooms, 2 staff bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. Its principle reception room is 38-foot long and its dining room is described as “easily sitting 22 guests”.

Houses on the site of Fountain House on 30th December 1930 (prior to their demolition)

Designed by George Val Myer (1883 – 1959), an architect best known for the BBC’s Broadcasting House, in conjunction with F. J. Watson-Hart and built by Sir Robert McAlpine & Sons between 1935 and 1938 on the site of demolished mansions, Fountain House includes around 60 residential units, offices, a fuel station and a car showroom.

On the market through Wetherell on a lease of 84 years, the service charge for the flat is £81,538 per annum ($105,584, €94,135 or درهم387,836 per annum).

June 8, 2017
Trevor Hemmings CVO

Reclusive yet charming “leisure entrepreneur” Trevor Hemmings owns over 100 racehorses, lives primarily on the Isle of Man and generously funded the SAFE centre to help victims of sexual violence in Preston, Lancashire.

This “publicity averse” self-made father of four’s Grand National winning horses have included Ballabriggs, Hedgehunter and Many Clouds and other assets in his collection have variously numbered Blackpool Tower and Preston North End Football Club. He also harbours a love for vintage Rolls-Royces and was considered a “surrogate son” by the equally shrewd late businessman and holiday camp owner Sir Fred Pontin (1906 – 2000).

Of his success, in a rare interview in 2015, this cloth capped “earthy” gent modestly remarked:

“In my business life I’ve had to climb the business and financial ladder by doing better next year than I did last year and that’s what life’s about. You have to work longer hours than everybody and you have to be on site seven days a week. Today I’m available seven days a week, people contact me seven days a week, let’s put it like that”.

Pictured above: Trevor Hemmings with Grand National winners Hedgehunter and Ballabriggs at Ballaseyr, Andreas.

June 4, 2017
Annabel Mullin – What’s on your mantelpiece?

A 20-question interview with criminal justice expert, former police officer and Liberal Democrat candidate for Kensington Annabel Mullin

The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?

To live every moment to the fullest and make the biggest difference to people’s lives that I can.

“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?

I love the motto ‘carpe diem’ (seize the day). When I was younger, Dead Poets Society was one of my favourite films.

Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2017?

Brexit.

Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?

Currently I’m missing not seeing my children much because I am campaigning so hard.

What might you swap all your wealth for?

Knowing that my children will have a great future.

Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank”. What’s your view on the state of the financial system?

One of the things I would like to see in Kensington is more support for small businesses and local shop owners that help to create our community. We are currently facing threats to our local services from business rates and that is something that needs to be addressed.

What phrase or word do you most loathe?

I loathe it when people say things they don’t mean. ‘Strong and Stable’ is currently high up there.

In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home”. What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?

I agree. I support that concept. Having worked at Crisis, I continue to support homeless charities. I also love shopping in our fabulous Kensington charity shops.

The judge in Law Abiding Citizen states: “I can pretty much do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?

Mobiles are amazingly useful and I’m a bit of an addict to my device. However, there is a time and a place for them.

If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?

George Orwell, Harriet Harmen, Lawrence of Arabia, Margaret Thatcher, Winston Churchill, Sophie in’t Veld, Hercule Poirot, Hilary Clinton, Charlie Chaplin, Shirley Williams, Paula Radcliffe, Prince and Laura Kuenssberg.

If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?

My meal would be steak, chips and red wine followed by tiramisu. I’d rather like to eat it high up in Petra overlooking the wondrous landscape.

What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?

That depends entirely on which time zone you are going by.

A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?

A martini, preferably an espresso martini.

Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?

Now, dinner parties with close friends but when I was younger, more partying.

Who is the most positive person you know?

My husband.

What’s your most guilty pleasure?

The ‘Archers Appreciation’ group on Facebook… With wine.

If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?

A dragon.

If you were a car, what marque would you be?

A Mercedes-Benz Gullwing.

Cilla Black presented Surprise, Surprise. Tell us the most surprising thing about you.

That I was an ultra-marathon runner and completed the Marathon Des Sables in 2008.

What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?

An elephant – the house is littered with them, candlesticks and birthday cards for my eldest’ fifth birthday.

Annabel Mullin was born and brought up in Kensington and Chelsea. She is mother of three young children, a keen environmentalist and a cyclist. She is a criminal justice expert and has spent most of her life working in London as an analyst, a Metropolitan Police officer in Soho and Mayfair and as an assistant psychologist with prisoners with mental illness. Recently she has worked as a PhD researcher at UCL.

Follow her on Twitter at @annabelmullin and @KCLibDems.

June 1, 2017
A Land of Contrasts

Kensington and Chelsea – The land of the ‘have-a-lots’ and the ‘have-nothing-at-alls’; an example of a contrast too far

The mere mention of the area of Kensington and Chelsea brings all sorts of connotations: One thinks of the Albert Hall and Hyde Park, Harrods and Harvey Nicks and one imagines affluence and culture. Here is an area that one associates with a certain kind of genteel elegance and one where both dowager duchesses and an educated, international community has long lived in harmony. Sadly, however, the apple cart has tipped and the area has descended to become a place where homeless people shiver on the streets whilst multi-million pound mansions lay rotting. This is an area that has had its soul ripped from its very being and this is an area that has fast become nothing but a money park with a hidden edge.

The cause of this undoubtedly unwelcome change chiefly can be laid at the door of foreign ‘High Net Worth’ (HNW) investors – individuals and corporations who’ve brought ‘Home-aggedon’ to the Royal Borough by snapping up buildings that were once filled with families for crazy sums – and greedy landlords focused on kicking out local businesses in favour of high-paying, trophy tenants. Where once prosperous operations, such as La Brasserie on Brompton Cross, traded for nearly fifty years, are now empty units and outside them sit homeless people begging for scraps.

Yes, there are ‘fake homeless’, but the problem is real and beneath the surface one also finds what can be termed the ‘hidden homeless’. These ‘have-nots’ and ‘have-nothing-at-alls’ sit in Pret stores and mind their own business. They cause no trouble but have been let down by the system. You’d be surprised how many such people there are in the Royal Borough and you should realise one thing: Us mere non-HNW mortals are just one pay cheque away from joining them.

Pictured top: A homeless man in Pelham Street; he ‘lives’ just across the road from the £105 million home of billionaire Professor ‘Muck’ Flick.

A Land of Contrasts – Meanwhile, in Knightsbridge, ‘homes’ (not that anyone lives in them) in One Hyde Park sell for up to £140 million

A Land of Contrasts – Now, in Fulham Road, even “trendy” cafes such as L’Eto are unable to afford their rents and are so desperate to get out of their tenancies that they display ‘to let’ signs whilst still trading

A Land of Contrasts – The area’s new wealth, meanwhile, flaunts its money in the most ostentatious fashion possible and has not a care for the community

May 29, 2017
Best in Britain

EXCLUSIVE – “Nationally important” Grade II* listed Berkshire mansion in 130 acres for sale for £26 million; its interior is yet to be renovated

A Grade II* listed building capable of being reinstated as one of Britain’s finest country houses has just been placed on the market for £26 million.

Benham Park – formerly known as Benham Vallence – at Marsh Benham, near Newbury comes with around 130 acres of Grade II listed Capability Brown (1716 – 1783) designed parkland and currently extends to 27,620 square foot. It has planning permission in place to either revert to a truly epic single family mansion or to convert into a 100 bedroom ‘wellness centre’ to rival Champneys in Hertfordshire and Clinique La Prairie in Switzerland. The schemes proposed would provide between 50,000 and 140,000 square foot of accommodation and, already, businessmen Harry Marriott and Michael Fresson, owners since 2011, have restored the exterior of the building along with its gardens and park.

Built at the behest of the nobleman William Craven (1738 – 1791) to designs of the Fulham born architect Henry Holland (1745 – 1806) in 1774 – 1775, this fine neoclassical house was constructed from Bath stone and later altered by the extremely wealthy Sutton baronets during their tenure in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. The estate was sold for £1 million to the innovative computer manufacturers Norsk Data in 1983 and remained in the firm’s ownership until it was dissolved in 1992. It then became the offices of other technology companies until again being placed for sale for £6 million in 2010.

Benham Park in the era when it was used as offices; the modern buildings have now been demolished and the car park landscaped

The main mansion prior to renovation of its exterior

A view from another angle (after external renovation)

From the lake

And from its imposing entrance

One of several entrances to the estate

Another set of impressive gates

Should a buyer use the existing designs for a residential scheme, they would find themselves owning a house that would not only come with 12 reception rooms and 29 bedroom suites, but also one with a sports complex, a sculpture gallery, a 40-seat cinema and garaging for 50 cars. Aside from an existing 5-bedroom mill house on the estate’s 10 acre lake and a gate lodge, the proposals would add a further 8 additional ancillary houses also.

Of Benham Park, Crispin Holborow of selling agent Savills commented:

“[This] is a nationally important stately home so its sale presents a very exciting proposition for a future owner to oversee its transformation. The prospect of restoring a property of such magnificent proportions with excellent access to London has not arisen for many years, and we expect interest from potential buyers for either its reinstatement as a significant country residence or its repurpose into a world leading wellness centre”.

Those looking to extend the compound further have the option to purchase two separately owned properties that were formerly part of the estate. A house known as ‘Greenhouses’, for sale with Savills, is offered for £1.3 million and comes with 1.47 acres of land whilst Mill Bank House, which stands in 2 acres, is on the market through Strutt & Parker.

The Numbers – Benham Park

1771 – 1774

William Craven, 6^th Baron Craven paid Capability Brown £7,150 for works to the house and grounds. This sum is the equivalent of £989,000 today ($1.3 million, €1.1 million or درهم4.7 million).

1982

Sold to Norsk Data for £1 million (the equivalent of £3.2 million, $4.1 million, €3.7 million or درهم15.1 million today) by Sir Richard Sutton (born 1937).

2010

Placed on the market for £6 million ($7.7 million, €6.9 million or درهم28.3 million).

2011

Sold to Harry Marriott and Michael Fresson for £5 million ($6.4 million, €5.7 million or درهم23.6 million).

2017

Benham Park placed on the market for £26 million ($33.4 million, €29.9 million or درهم123 million).

Separately owned estate houses

Mill Bank House – On the market for £1.4 million ($1.8 million, €1.6 million or درهم6.6 million).

Greenhouses – On the market for £1.3 million ($1.7 million, €1.5 million or درهم6.1 million).

May 29, 2017
Wealthy in Wiltshire

Classically proportioned Wiltshire village house for sale; it’ll supposedly appeal to “your typical wealthy Briton” (whatever that might mean)

Primarily built between 1620 and 1760, a classically proportioned four-storey house in the Wiltshire village of Seend has been placed on the market this week for £4.5 million ($5.8 million, €5.2 million or درهم21.2 million).

Of ashlar and rendered stone construction and built for Mary, Dowager Duchess of Somerset in 1760, Seend Park (or ‘Seend Green House’ as it was previously known) was owned by the now retired judge Sir Mathew Thorpe from 1971 and since 1990 by its current owners. It has been Grade II listed since 1962 and was somewhat unkindly described by the architectural scholar Sir Nikolaus Pevsner CBE FBA (1902 – 1983) as: “So absolutely plain… that it looks like an institution”.

The main house, which has been modernised in recent years and extends to 11,357 square foot, includes 4 reception rooms, 11 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. It has many original features and in addition there is a 4 bedroom, 1,994 square foot lodge and a 3,630 square foot coach house within the property’s 26.4-acre grounds.

Of the pint-sized mini estate, James Mackenzie of selling agents Strutt & Parker told The Times: “Architecturally, the house will attract your typical wealthy Briton”.

May 27, 2017
Anything But A Steel

Renovated Pacific Heights, San Francisco residence with Danielle Steel as a neighbour for sale for sum 652% higher than it sold for in 1994

A buyer wishing to live just to the north of Danielle Steel’s architecturally striking ‘Spreckels Mansion’ home can now purchase 1994 Jackson Street in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights.

For sale with agent Malin Giddings, the 5,490 square foot, 4-storey detached house offered includes not only 4 reception rooms, 4 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms, but also a bar, wine room, exercise room, elevator and barbecue. It comes with a 2-car garage, two balconies and a garden and is curiously described as having a “re-scripted aesthetic” that “caters to the 21^st century family while incorporating the best finishes of yesterday and today”.

Built in 1940 and completely reconfigured by Ken Fulk – an “incredible… sprightly… design guru” with a client list ranging from Napster’s Sean Parker to Bebo’s Michael and Xochi Birch, according to Vanity Fair – £8.40 million ($10.75 million, €9.62 million or درهم39.50 million) is sought for the house.

Indicative of the sharp rise in prices in the neighbourhood since it became popular with the titans of Silicon Valley, 1994 Jackson Street sold for $6.25 million in 2008 (the equivalent of $7.10 million, £5.55 million, €6.35 million or درهم26.09 million today) and $1.43 million in 1994 (the equivalent of $2.36 million, £1.84 million, €2.11 million or درهم8.67 million today). Plainly, now, this is a house that’s anything but a steal.

Prior to renovation – 1994 Jackson Street, Pacific Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94109, United States of America as it was presented when sold in 2008

1994 Jackson Street today

The house is set just beneath Danielle Steele’s ‘Spreckels Mansion’ (2080 Washington Street)

Danielle Steel and her palatial home

1994 Jackson Street (viewed from the side)

The house has been made-over by San Francisco “man-about-town” Ken Fulk

He is famed for having designed homes for amongst others Michael and Xochi Birch

The staircase of 1994 Jackson Street

The house’s main reception space

The dining room

The kitchen

A colourfully carpeted entertaining area

A recreation room with a bar

The master suite has a bedroom area, sitting area, dressing room, balcony and bathroom

Another of the four/five bedrooms in the house

The view

A floor plan of the space

May 27, 2017
Robert Adam

With such a name, this suave gent just had to design landmarks. University of Westminster educated and Hampshire based Robert Adam (born 1948) followed his more famous namesake (1728 – 1792) and became a designer of “progressive neo-classical style buildings” in 1975. He won “the richest prize in architecture” in January 2017 and counts the Sackler Library at the University of Oxford, a “miniature Baroque mansion” at Eastwood Farm – complete with a lion on the roof – in Herstmonceux, East Sussex and the “KGB proof” Ingliston House on the Wentworth Estate in Surrey amongst his notable works.

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May 27, 2017
Belgravia in Bloom

Grand Belgravia apartment – complete with a garden that wouldn’t look out of place at the Chelsea Flower Show – for sale

As thousands of garden lovers visit the Chelsea Flower Show this week, an individual with £8.95 million ($11.63 million, €10.39 million or درهم42.71 million) to spare could acquire a more permanent horticultural delight in the form of a ground and basement maisonette in nearby Belgravia.

Flat 1 at 57 Eaton Place provides not only 3,497 square foot – with 3 reception rooms, 3 bedroom suites and staff accommodation – but also a courtyard and terrace garden that selling agent Louise Hewlett describes as giving a “country outlook in an urban Belgravia traditional white stucco building”.

The flat is held on a lease of 108 years and a service charge of £11,689 ($15,187, €13,577 or درهم55,771) is payable annually.

May 23, 2017
Faded Grandeur

Knightsbridge flat for sale for £3.75 million in spite of needing complete renovation and having a lease with just 9 years remaining

A lateral flat – with an interior that could be described as ‘Miss Havisham-esque’ in terms of its faded grandeur – at 16/17 Ennismore Gardens, SW7 has gone on sale for £3.75 million ($4.89 million, €4.36 million or درهم17.96 million).

Comprising of a first floor balcony flat of 3,111 square foot and a fifth floor staff or guest flat of 488 square foot, the 3,559 square foot property offered has a total of 3 reception rooms, 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. It is within a Grade II listed building and described by selling agents Hobart Slater as being “potentially one of the finest apartments in Ennismore Gardens”.

The catch? There are just nine years left on the lease and though this could be extended, purchased at asking price it effectively equates to a cost of £417,000 per year ($544,000, €485,000 or درهم2 million per year). A further expense comes in the form of a service charge of £17,672 per year ($23,033, €20,554 or درهم84,641 per year) also.

May 20, 2017