A Chinese property tycoon has agreed to buy a 45-room mansion overlooking Hyde Park in London for more than 200 million pounds ($262 million), making it the most expensive house to be sold in the UK.

Cheung Chung-kiu, who already owns the so-called “Cheesegrater” skyscraper in the City, is in the process of buying 2-8a Rutland Gate for between 205 million and 210 million pounds.

The seven-storey property was built as four grand family homes before being converted into one vast residence in the 1980s.

The previous owner had been Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia who died in 2011.

When the sale completes in the next few weeks it will officially become the UK’s most expensive home.

The record is currently held by Park Place, a stately home near Henley-on-Thames, in Berkshire, which was bought in 2011 by the exiled Russian billionaire Andrey Borodin for 140 million pounds.

No decision has been made on whether the property will remain a single house or be converted into luxury apartments.

Based on sale prices at the nearby Peninsula London project, a redevelopment of the building that turned it into apartments could be worth as much as 700 million pounds.

The Knightsbridge house, which was built in the 1830s, features approximately 45 rooms including grand staterooms, 20 bedrooms, a swimming pool, private health spa and gym and underground parking for several cars. There are also “several passenger lifts” and a wing of staff rooms.

The house is located just south of Kensington Gardens and 68 of its windows have a park view. The interiors were created by acclaimed French designer Alberto Pinto.

Cheung, from Chongqing in south-west China, is the founder and chairman ofCC Land Holdings, a Hong Kong-listed company that owns property in China and the UK.

Via The Guardian - Bloomberg

Photo : GETTY IMAGES/AFP