£210m for Britain’s priciest ever house
And it’ll be £700m if Chinese buyer splits it into f lats
A CHINESE property mogul has broken Britain’s house price record by buying a London mansion for a staggering £210 million.
The 45-room home in Knightsbridge overlooks Hyde Park and boasts grand state rooms, several lifts, a pool, private spa, gym and underground parking. Billionaire Cheung Chung-kiu is finalising the deal for the 1830s building. Once the sale goes through, it will smash the previous record – £140 million paid for a house in Oxfordshire.
Pictures of t he palatial property in Rutland Gate show superking-size beds, vintage oak furniture and chandeliers in the study, and a gold-themed bathroom with steps leading up to the bath.
Mr Cheung previously paid £ 1.15 billion for a London skyscraper nicknamed the Cheeseg r a t e r. B o r n in Chongqing, south- west China, he moved to Hong Kong in 1980 and made his name buying real estate.
His wife, Cecilia, is a budding artist and avid art collector. They have two children. It is not clear whether Mr Cheung will keep the property as a single home or if he will split it into apartments.
It is thought dividing it up could increase its value to £700 million. The property has been up for sale for more than seven years and was once home to former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, who was assassinated in 2005. Subsequently it became the property of the late Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
A spokesman for Mr Cheung said: ‘Rutland Gate is in the process of being acquired by funds advised by the family office of Cheung Chungkiu. At present, no decision has been made on whether the final scheme will be a single house for private client use, or an ultra-prime multi-unit apartment scheme.’