Naharnet

London Mansion For Sale For Record £300 Mn

A mansion overlooking London's Hyde Park that belonged to late Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri is on sale for a British record £300 million ($484 million, 372 million euros), a report said Thursday.

If it meets its asking price the seven-storey, 45-bedroom home would more than double the previous British house price record of £140 million, the Financial Times said.

The 60,000-square-foot property includes a large swimming pool, underground parking and several lifts, and is thought to have had its windows bullet-proofed by Hariri, who owned the house until he was assassinated in Beirut in 2005.

It was then given to Hariri's business associate Sultan bin Abdulaziz, crown prince of Saudi Arabia, the report said. Abdulaziz died in October.

"It is a truly rarefied property on the market and whoever buys it is going to pay a lot of premium for the unusual size in that location," London-based property consultant Charles McDowell was quoted as saying.

The market in high-end London property has defied the recession in Britain, with prices up 49 percent since the spring of 2009, estate agents Knight Frank said this month.

The previous record for residential property was set by a penthouse also overlooking Hyde Park, which fetched £140 million in 2010.

Source: Agence France Presse


Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/53431