One of London’s most-expensive homes is nearing completion, a 22,000-square-foot “giga-mansion” set to come onto the super-prime market for £110 million.
Luxury developer Fenton Whelan is converting the former headquarters of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, into a single opulent family home in the heart of Belgravia.
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The developer purchased the Grade I-listed building, 17 Belgrave Square, for £35 million back in 2022, and its completion is nearing towards the back end of 2026. Marketing is expected to start at the beginning of next year.
Transforming a historic London landmark
17 Belgrave Square’s transformation is very much intended to preserve its heritage as an important London political and medical landmark, and a stunning example of Regency-style architecture that was popularised in mid 19th-century Britain at the turn of the Victorian era.
Fenton Whelan intends to make the most of its 22,000-square-foot footprint, and restore the property to its original residential grandeur while incorporating modern amenities expected at this rarified price point.
It will, they say, push the renovation firmly into London’s “giga-prime” price bracket – properties valued at £100 million and above, where it’s believed only 20 or so residential properties across the capital meet this price point, with virtually all of them situated in districts Mayfair, Belgravia, Kensington, Knightsbridge, Regent’s Park, St John’s Wood and Hampstead.
Fenton Welhan backing its super-prime track record
The white stucco-fronted mansion will be converted into a family residence that will have a main building, complemented by an orangery, attached mews house, three-car garage, and separate staff accommodation.
Fenton Whelan has secured a £29.5 million bank loan to fund the comprehensive renovation.
The developer is banking on its track record in delivering multi-million-pound projects across the capital, which include Park Modern overlooking Hyde Park, which is marketing penthouse suites for £60 million.
Mr Shah said the Hyde Park development has proved popular with buyers from the Middle East due to rising property prices in the Gulf and a flatlining in London, and believes this new single giga-residence in Belgravia will attract significant interest from the region.
A Regency home with history
The building’s history stretches back to the 1840s when it was completed as part of the Earl Grosvenor’s vision for Belgrave Square, London’s premier aristocratic address.
Its first owner, Sir Ralph Howard, was a Whig politician who notably presented petitions for the abolition of slavery. During the 1920s and 1930s, Lady Leontine Sassoon hosted legendary wartime parties within its walls, and the building served the Red Cross during World War II.
After decades of commercial use – first as the Institute of Metals headquarters, then as the Royal College of Psychiatrists from 1974 to 2013 – the property most recently belonged to fugitive Russian financier Georgy Bedzhamov.
Its sale received High Court approval in 2022, after Bedzhamov was implicated in the theft of billions from his own bank, Vneshprombank, which went bankrupt in March 2016.
Exceptional properties commanding exceptional prices
According to the private bank Coutts, super-prime sales in London are running 22% below the 10-year average, while Belgravia property prices remain 24% below their 2014 peak.
Yet Fenton Whelan is betting that demand from the global ultra-wealthy remains robust, particularly following the £139 million sale of The Holme in Regent’s Park earlier this year – evidence that exceptional properties still command exceptional prices.
Fenton Whelan director and co-founder, Sanjay Sharma, describes Belgrave Square as the location where royalty and world leaders choose to reside, and that it underscores London’s continued popularity among the world’s super-wealthy.
“It’s the square for royalty and world leaders and [properties] come to market only very rarely,” Sharma told The National, adding “it reflects our conviction that London will always remain a very attractive place for the world’s elite”.
Profiling a potential buyer
The expected purchaser profile includes global billionaires, with particular interest anticipated from Middle Eastern and American buyers seeking a prestigious London pied-à-terre.
Belgrave Square itself remains synonymous with exclusivity. Situated moments from Buckingham Palace and surrounded by embassies – including the Austrian Embassy and the headquarters of the Country Land and Business Association – the square represents the pinnacle of London residential addresses.
The 2nd Earl Grosvenor conceived it in the 1820s as the centerpiece of his Belgravia estate, and it has retained that cachet for two centuries.
A rarified opportunity to obtain a globally elite trophy asset
At this level, transactions typically occur off-market due to security and privacy concerns, as buyers often include heads of state, royalty, and individuals requiring discretion.
Upon its completetion, it’s expected the property will compete globally with similar trophy assets in Dubai, Monaco, the French Riviera, Manhattan, Beverly Hills, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
Whether Fenton Whelan can achieve £110 million – more than triple their acquisition cost – will test both the resilience of London’s super-prime market at its highest end, and the enduring appeal of Belgrave Square as the capital’s ultimate residential address.
