A £110 million ‘giga mansion’ in Belgrave Square is set to become one of London‘s most expensive homes as it hits the market, with international billionaires touted as the most likely buyers.
Property 17 Belgrave Square in Belgravia, central London, has an illustrious history stretching back centuries and is Grade I listed, making it a desirable home for some of the world’s richest individuals.
Nestled between the Austrian Embassy and the Country Land and Business Association, the mansion is just a stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace and is in the process of redevelopment after standing vacant for several years.
With work due to complete next year, it is expected to retail for upwards of £110 million – almost triple the £35 million purchase price paid by luxury developers Fenton Whelan.
After extensive works for which the firm has taken out a £29.5 million loan, the property will be equipped with all the latest features including a gym, pool and spa complex and home cinema.
‘It’s the square for royalty and world leaders and [properties] come to market only very rarely,’ Sanjay Sharma, co-founder of developers Fenton Whelan, told The National.
The 22,000 sq ft property – which until recently was owned by a Russian oligarch who has been pictured with Vladimir Putin – will be marketed from early 2026, with redevelopment works scheduled to be completed in the summer.
In addition to the property’s interior luxury, it will also feature an orangery and attached mews, a three-car garage and staff accommodation.
Nestled between the Austrian Embassy and the Country Land and Business Association, the mansion in Belgrave Square (pictured) is just a stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace and is in the process of redevelopment
Georgy Bedzhamov (right), who was granted permission by the High Court to sell 17 Belgrave Square in 2022, with Vladimir Putin in 2014
Mr Sharma said the ‘speculative development’ reflects his firm’s ‘conviction that London will always remain a very attractive place for the world’s elite’ and added the most likely purchaser will be a billionaire who ‘lives globally’.
The High Court approved the sale of 17 Belgrave Square in 2022, paving the way for its new lease of life.
A judge ruled that fugitive Russian banker Georgy Bedzhamov, the previous owner, should be allowed to proceed with the sale in order to pay £10 million in fees to his legal team.
A collapsed Russian firm, Vneshprombank, had previously obtained a worldwide freezing order against the oligarch in 2018, over claims Bedzhamov stole billions before it went bankrupt.
Before the oligarch scandal, The Royal College of Psychiatrists was based at the Belgrave Square property from 1974 until it relocated to Prescot Street in Aldgate in October 2013.
Historically it served as home to MP for Wicklow, Sir Ralph Howard, in the 19th century after construction was completed in 1840 before passing to politician Pandelli Ralli.
Sir Ralph would entertain guests at his London home including his neighbour, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, later the Duchess of Kent and the mother of Queen Victoria.
Ralli also served as an MP for Bridport and lived in number 17 for around 60 years until his death in 1928.
Sir Ralph would entertain guests at his London home including his neighbour, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (pictured), later the Duchess of Kent and the mother of Queen Victoria.
The property was completed in 1840 and has had just five owners in that time, including two 19th century MPs
Lady Leontine Sassoon moved in the following year and remained owner of the tenancy until her death in 1955, although she herself had vacated the property some 13 years prior.
She is said to have held parties there for soldiers during the Second World War, while part of the property was used as a Red Cross supply depot.
In 1956, it was taken over by the Institute of Meals before the Royal College moved in 18 years later.
The new chapter in the mansion’s history will see it go up for sale on the ‘giga-prime’ market – defined as properties in excess of £100 million.
The eventual owner will call some of the world’s richest people and institutions its neighbours, as well as embassies for countries including Portugal, Spain, Norway and Austria.
It is thought there are only around 20 residences in London valued in this market.
These are mostly based in some of London’s most expensive neighbourhoods including Belgravia, Mayfair, Knightsbridge and Kensington.
Many buyers in the global giga-prime market are based in the Middle East, India and China, as well as the UK and US.
Peter Wetherell, executive chairman of Wetherell, told the National buyers of giga-prime properties are ‘billionaires and many are heads of state or royals from the Middle East. So, by its very nature, it’s an extremely private and policed marketplace.’
He added: ‘The sales are rare, and the opportunity to buy a giga-prime residence only comes up very occasionally. Nearly always the sales are on a strictly off-market basis, with the deals cloaked in secrecy and legal non-disclosure agreements.’
