This $320 million London flat features bulletproof windows, is guarded by SAS-trained security and even has a connection to Australian soap Neighbours.
Now Britain’s most expensive home — more pricey than any castle or pop star palace in the British Isles — is a mammoth apartment at One Hyde Park in Central London’s most exclusive neighbourhood built by the Candy brothers.
While they might sound like heirs to a confectionary clan, Nick and Christian Candy are actually self-made billionaire property developers who have pinned their name to some of the UK’s most exclusive addresses.
And Nick is married to ex-Neighbours star, Holly Valance (picture with Nick below).
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The extraordinary two-storey apartment has heated marble floors, a library, two wine cellars, a manicure and pedicure room, a panic room, padded silk walls, chandeliers and even a glass elevator for your luxury cars.
Architect Richard Rogers, the brains behind the quirky Centre Pompidou in Paris, designed the 2011 building that is rumoured to be home to a host of Middle Eastern princes, Russian Oligarchs and other random unnamed rich people.
While it hasn’t exactly been sold, Nick has reportedly taken out a £80 million mortgage on half of the palatial pad, which puts its overall value at £160 million.
Nick had been living at the property with his soap star spouse until recently when the couple moved to the luxury Providence House in Chelsea, a £75 million home they’re renovating down the road.
He is now set to rent the mega apartment out for £7.8 million a year after “considerable interest in letting”. He has reportedly said that it just makes good business sense to find a tenant for the flat which wasn’t even their primary residence.
After all, the cashed up Candy also rents out his £26 million custom-designed super yacht for £50,000 a week.
A spokesman for Candy Capital told The London Times: “I can confirm that this is indeed a refinancing rather than a sale, but I am not able to comment any further.”
The building officially opened in 2011 and was immediately noticed by the global real estate market after it broke several price records for London and Great Britain. It houses 86 apartments and three retail units that are also five star tenants including Rolex, McLaren Automotive and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.
One Hyde Park is serviced by an in-house maid and laundry service operating out of the five-star Mandarin Hotel next door and has saunas, steam rooms, a squash court and cinema on site for residents.
The Candys famously began their property portfolio with a £6000 loan from their grandmother in 1995 to purchase a one-bedroom flat in Earls Court, London. They flipped it in 18 months and made a £50,000 profit. The rest is real estate history.
