Luxurious flat in Rolls-Royce’s former Mayfair HQ is offered for £26million to ‘worldwide younger purchaser’
A luxurious flat in Rolls-Royce’s former headquarters in Mayfair has been sold to an ‘international young buyer’ for its asking price of £26.25million.
The 5,085 square feet apartment, which encompasses the entire fourth floor of the Grade II listed 149 Old Park Lane, has been sold just nine months after it was put up for sale in July last year.
It was sold to a young international businessman who purchased the property as a pied-à-terre – a living space that is used as a second home – The Standard reports.
The young buyer fell for the apartment’s volume, 14-foot-high ceilings and lateral layout, according to investors Fairway Capital.
Estate agents Sotheby’s had expected the property would interest ultra-high net-worth individuals, adding that it is ‘exactly the type of residence that wealthy buyers are wanting in Mayfair’.
The property boasts a whopping five bedrooms, each with an ensuite bathroom, with original fireplaces and traditional oak flooring combined with more modern features such as underfloor heating, air conditioning, and Sonos sound systems.
Along with its grandeur, the capital’s property watchers are also fascinated by the address’ unique and sometimes risqué history.
Lord Elgin previously owned the property, which he used to publicly display the Elgin Marbles, while in 1906 the building became the Mayfair headquarters of Rolls Royce, with a showroom on the ground floor.
This luxurious flat, which was once Rolls-Royce’s former headquarters, has been sold to an ‘international young buyer’ for its asking price of £26.25million
The property boasts 14 ft ceilings, with crystal chandeliers, and bespoke furniture, including this king bed in one of its five bedrooms
The sprawling living room is fitted with floor to ceiling windows and modern furnishings
In 1806, Lord Elgin returned to Britain with the Parthenon marbles which he had removed from the Acropolis in Greece during his time as ambassador to the Ottoman Empire and took up residence at the address.
Lord Elgin put the treasures on public display at the address, which was then known as Gloucester House.
More than 200 years later, the sculptures – originally crafted by the ancient Greek painter and architect Pheidias – continue to fuel a war of words between the UK and Greek governments.
But around the same time the marbles arrived, Lord Elgin made the discovery that his aristocratic wife Mary Hamilton Bruce had grown close to the MP Robert Ferguson.
In 1807, the revelation led to an acrimonious courtroom drama which filled the newspapers of the day and would later become the basis for countless racy books – both historical and fiction.
Lord Elgin sued Ferguson for ‘seduction’ and was awarded £10,000 – a fortune worth millions in today’s money.
After the Elgins’ divorce, 149 Old Park Lane was occupied by Prince William, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh from 1816-34 and then by Prince George, Duke of Cambridge until his death in 1904.
Later in 1972, the first Hard Rock Café opened on the ground floor of the new building (designed by Colcutt & Hamp in 1905).
The building gives a great view over London and nearby parks
The seven-storey property provides picturesque views of Green Park below
The property comes with a £64,000 service charge, believed to be among the most expensive in the country, and all the amenities one would expect – including 24-hour porterage and concierge
The building also features original fireplaces, such as this one seen in the dining area, which add a touch of grandeur to the modern aesthetic
The ensuite for the master bedroom has a modern light grey finish
The large living room allows for plenty of space for entertaining guests
The master bedroom has cabinets on either side of the bed with custom lighting
Later still, in the 1990s, it would become Lord Sugar’s first venture into property development in which he transformed the building into decadent apartments for the uber-rich.
The apartment is described as a one with ‘rich heritage’ which is honoured throughout in the original fireplaces, traditional oak flooring and the period cornicing and panelling which have been hand restored.
The flooring of the apartment is made of ‘the finest natural materials’, with Emperador marble with bronze inlay in the entrance hallway, bespoke oak parquet throughout the dining room, reception and kitchen, luxurious wool carpets and polished Italian stone flooring in the en-suite bathrooms, according to the listing.
The kitchen was hand crafted from Jasmine white oak, while the island, worktops and splashbacks are carved from polished neolith Calacatta, it adds.
The property also features live-in staff quarters and an additional full service staff kitchen, with large industrial sized appliances and a separate formal dining room.
There is also 24-hour security in the lobby, secured doors and windows, all of which are alarmed, and a CCTV system which can be accessed remotely.
The sale of the apartment to a younger buyer seemingly reflects the wider property market in London as a whole, with the average age of people snapping up ‘trophy homes’ in the capital has dropped by 12 years over the last 10 years to 41.
Among those who have bought luxury properties are well-known young actors and singers such as Lily James and Harry Styles – as well as Russian oligarchs, Middle Eastern royals and other foreign millionaire tycoons.
The lobby of the apartment, which features 24 hour security
The living room and formal dining area are connected with a large archway
The bespoke, dine-in kitchen has been hand crafted from Jasmine white oak, the island, worktops and splashbacks are carved from polished neolith Calacatta
The ensuite bathroom of the master bedroom has polished Italian stone flooring
The view from the living room looking into the formal dining room
Lord Elgin (pictured) previously owned the property, which he used to publicly display the Elgin Marbles
The Elgin Marbles (pictured) are a 17-figure collection of classical Greek marble sculptures made by architect and sculptor Phidias, a Greek sculptor whose statue of Zeus, the god of the sky in ancient Greek mythology, was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world
Meanwhile, Dua Lipa also owns a Victorian property in Hampstead – for which she’s received permission to add an underground swimming pool and a library.
The Masked Singer’s Rita Ora lives in Primrose Hill – home to grand Victorian terraces and pastel-coloured Regency townhouses – worth an estimated £7.5million.
And Styles has bought three houses in north London in recent years – including a £2.95million home when he was just 18.
Speaking to The Times in April last year, luxury property agency Beauchamp Estates said 54 homes priced at more than £15 million were last in Britain in 2023.
Sotheby’s auction house said that younger, super-rich buyers are looking for high-tech homes with features such as tennis courts which can be turned into dance floors with a button.
They want homes in popular film locations like Notting Hill and paintings by artists such as David Hockney.
Some luxury developments offer residents full-time personal assistants who find seamstresses for them, even at night, and help to create ‘bespoke menus’ – for pets.
