14 DAY TRIAL // Bringing new meaning to the term “luxury property,” a two-storey apartment in London has just been sold for the record amount of £140 million, which literally makes it the most expensive real estate in the world.
They say recession is still very much felt – but clearly the same doesn’t apply to a mystery billionaire who took £140 million out of his pocket for an apartment in London, the Daily Mail informs.
The two-storey property comes equipped in ways a regular Joe or Jane could probably only dream of, including floor to ceiling bullet proof windows, private security guards, around the clock chef and a tunnel.
The identity of the buyer has not been made public but, as per the Mail, speculation has it it must be a Russian or Arab billionaire looking to invest in London real estate.
The record transaction comes to prove that, contrary to all appearances, the real estate market (the luxury segment at least) has not been affected in any way by recession. On the contrary actually.
“Costing more than £6,000 per square foot, the two-floor apartment in the One Hyde Park, Knightsbridge block has floor-to-ceiling windows, its own car park and access to a host of spas and squash courts,” the Mail says.
“There is also a tunnel to the neighboring Mandarin Oriental Hotel – where TV chef Blumenthal will soon open his first London restaurant – to allow residents access to 24-hour room service, while the performance car-maker McLaren is opening a showroom on the ground floor,” the publication further writes.
Should the owner feel the need to venture outside, he will be able to do his shopping at luxury department stores Harrods and Harvey Nichols, the tab points out.
“This is a huge price. In the last six months we have sold more trophy properties than we have in the last two years,” Trevor Abrahamson of estate agent Glentree Estates says, underlining how recession has not affected the price of luxury real estate.
“One minute there was an over-supply and then there was a shortage. Prices are high,” Abrahamson further says.
Before the acquisition of the £140 million apartment, the title for the most expensive flat in the world belonged to a property in St James’ Square, which was valued in 2008 at £115 million.
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