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BBC Online - Updown Court - £70m price tag for 'trophy' homeMarch 26, 2005A house in Surrey is being put on the market for more than £70m - an asking price which agents say makes it the most expensive house in the country. Last year, a house in Kensington Palace Gardens went on sale with a price tag of £85m, but agents said the most actually paid for a house is £70m. The 58-acre estate in the village of Windlesham is said to be attracting "an international audience". Developers say there are inevitably a limited number of potential buyers. Viewers at Updown Court in the last couple of months have been from Russia, the Middle East, and China. Developer and entrepreneur Leslie Allen-Vercoe, of Rhymer Investments, told the BBC the sort of people agents were looking for was "in the billionaire league rather than the millionaire league". He added: "There are over 600 known billionaires in the world and probably twice as many as that who keep their names quiet." The house was built in 2000 on the 12 acre site of an earlier property owned during the 1970s by Egyptian prince His Highness Prince Sami Gayed. Developers said the original building was left as "a shell" after it was damaged by fire during the Great Storm of 1987, and that an earlier project to restore the house went into receivership. Rhymer bought it from receivers in 2002 for £20m and have since spent £30m on its renovation. Publicised as "a trophy home", for "ambassadorial living", the house has a panic room in case of terrorist attacks and five swimming pools. All systems in the house are computer controlled and can be accessed from anywhere in the world. And the residents of the house's 22 bedroom and bathroom suites will enjoy a heated marble driveway, along with a private cinema and bowling alley. Media Enquiries: Nicki Glancey/Susan Grant The Communication Group: 020 7630 1411 nglancey@thecommunicationgroup.co.uk sgrant@thecommunicationgroup.co.uk Return to press centre |
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