NOTHING comes cheap in London’s Islington, even if you’re on €250k
JUST two days after RTÉ announced plans to cut one-fifth of its workforce, former Late Late Show presenter Ryan Tubridy announced on Thursday he would be hosting a three-hour mid-morning show on Virgin Radio UK.
He also indicated he’d like to live in the celebrity enclave of Islington when he relocates to London – but he’ll pay premium price for a pad in the highly sought-after district. He said he has begun house-hunting ahead of his big move.
‘I took the tube to Islington which seemed very nice,’ he told his new UK listeners.
Islington has always been a prime location for those desiring to live in the thriving London borough.
Over the years, the area – known for its creative and laidback culture – has been a hugely popular spot for musicians, artists, actors, writers, politicians and revolutionaries.
Celebrities who lived and worked there include Titanic star Kate Winslet, author George Orwell, musician Lilly Allen, former British prime minister Boris Johnston and writer Oscar Wilde. But the cost of renting or buying in Islington doesn’t come cheap. Industry sources this weekend said Mr Tubridy is likely to earn between €200,000 and €250,000 in his new role... and he will need every penny to live in Islington.
One source told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘He might be an unknown [in UK], but he is still a name and he comes with a pedigree. So while he’s not a million-pound signing he wouldn’t have gone for less than €200,000. But this isn’t about money for Ryan. It’s about being wanted and, more the point, being seen to be wanted.’
A local estate agent told the MoS that a basic two-bedroom flat in the area can go for anything between ‘£700,000 (€800,000) to £900,000 (€1.3m)’ and a house is ‘most likely north of a million’ (€1.15m).
And he warned it can be ‘extremely difficult’ to buy in the area due to demand.
If Mr Tubridy is seeking a rental property, he can expect to pay well over £2,000 (€2,300) a month to rent a two-bed apartment. But if he is looking for something a bit more upmarket, a two-bedroom flat in Islington’s Baron Street in the centre of the bustling borough would cost £3,490 (€4,000) a month.
He could upgrade to a luxury twobed on York Way which comes complete with a balcony and 24-hour concierge team for £4,375 (€5,000) a month. He could, of course, ease his accommodation financial burden by renting out his Monkstown mews in upmarket south Dublin.
He bought the two-bedroom bachelor pad for €900,000 in 2016. Other two-bedroom properties in the Monkstown area are currently listed for around €2,800 a month on Daft.ie. Mr Tubridy will be pleased to learn similar style houses in the area are listed for sale for between €900,000 to €1m.
Mr Tubridy has yet to say if he will pay RTÉ back the €150,000 he received for the controversial Renault deal, despite landing a lucrative radio role in the UK.
It comes as industry sources speculated that Mr Tubridy could earn up to €250,000 a year for his new broadcast deal with Virgin Radio UK.
In July, Mr Tubridy told the Oireachtas Media Committee he would pay back the monies that he received in advance of personal appearances for Renault – the former Late Late commercial sponsor – as part of a contentious deal at the centre of the crisis that engulfed RTÉ last summer.
He told politicians: ‘If that work is not called upon to be done, of course the money goes back.’
RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst told the committee in September, after he publicly sacked Mr Tubridy, that the presenter had not paid back the money and said he believed there was a ‘moral case’ for him to do so.
As Mr Tubridy prepares for his big move, it is not clear yet if his girlfriend Dr Clare Kambamettu, will be joining him in London.
Psychologist, Dr Kambamettu currently runs clinics in Dublin and Galway.