The £250MILLION home: London house set to become UK's most expensive property ever sold as it is put up for sale

18 Carlton House Terrace said to be on sale on secret 'grey market'
It is set to be the most valuable property ever sold in the UK
Home near Trafalgar Square has more living space than a football pitch
Believed to be owned by secretive Saudi royal who will not allow photos

PUBLISHED: 17:10, 22 April 2013 | UPDATED: 23:10, 22 April 2013

An end of terrace home in London is set to become the most expensive property ever sold in the UK after it went on the market for £250million.

The six-storey Grade I listed Regency mansion is a stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace and boasts 50,000 sq ft of living space, making it one of the capital’s largest private homes.

On sale: This house in St James's has apparently gone on the market with an asking price of £250million

Luxury: Carlton House Terrace, pictured, is an exclusive street with few residential properties

Central: The house is within easy walking distance of Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus

Reports yesterday suggested that a ‘strictly confidential’ brochure, which describes 18 Carlton House Terrace as ‘probably the finest residence in London’, has been circulating among the super-wealthy.

For security reasons it shows only black and white photographs from the 1890s. Details on the interior are sketchy, but there is believed to be a magnificent double staircase and a huge ballroom.

Spacious: The living space inside number 18 is nearly as large as a whole football pitch

Inside: This vintage picture shows how the £250million house looked under a previous owner

Private: The current owner has not allowed any up-to-date pictures of the interior to be published

The house is registered in the British Virgin Islands and is said to be owned by a member of a Middle East royal family.

Property expert Henry Pryor, who pointed out that the ‘nearest corner shop will be Fortnum & Mason’, said: ‘I think it will almost certainly be bought by a foreign buyer.’

View: One expert has suggested that the house's value could be reduced by its location among businesses

Terrace: Regency townhouses in London have become increasingly unaffordable in recent years

Passing by: Carlton House Terrace is considered desirable thanks to its location just off The Mall

LONDON'S MEGA-PRICEY PROPERTY

If 18 Carlton House Terrace reaches its £250million asking price, it will be the UK's most expensive home - but it is not the only super-pricey property to reach the market in the past year.

Last autumn, a huge house at Rutland Gate overlooking Hyde Park was put on sale for £300million, although its price was slashed when it failed to find a buyer.

Around the same time, 1 Cornwall Terrace, opposite Regent's Park, was advertised for £100million, which estate agents said was the highest price ever asked for a terraced house.

Outside Central London, Heath Hall in Hampstead was also marketed at £100million - which later had to be lowered to £65million.
Cambridge House on Piccadilly, formerly home to the In and Out Club, is currently being renovated and could fetch more than £200million when it is sold.

The property is 1,537 times more expensive than the average house sold last month in the UK, which was worth £162,606. At the asking price, the buyer will face a £17.5million bill for stamp duty.

Details on the property's interior are sketchy, it is believed to boast a magnificent double staircase and huge ballroom.

The secret brochure apparently shows interior photographs which were taken in the 1890s, because the current owner does not want to advertise the contents of his home for security reasons.

The property is registered in the British Virgin Islands, and said to be owned by a member of the Saudi royal family.

Despite the shaky economic recovery, 2012 was a record year for sales in London worth more than £5million, according to research by estate agent Savills.

Last year, more than 400 properties were sold over that threshold, up from 350 in 2011.

With so many properties now fetching nine-figure sums, oligarchs might be tempted to move to Kensington's Egerton Crescent, Britain's priciest street - where they can pick up a bargain with the average house costing just £8million.

Convenient: The back of the house looks out onto The Mall and over to St James's Park

Asking price: The purchase is set to net £17.5million for the Exchequer in the form of stamp duty

KATCHING MY I

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Wednesday, 24 April 2013