Dame Barbara Cartland’s Mayfair mansion is up for sale for £35 million in a move aimed at American buyers looking to snap up “bargains” in London after the slump in the value of the pound.
The Grade II-listed double-fronted residence in South Street where the romantic fiction writer lived from 1936 to 1950 originally went up for sale on Valentine’s Day two years ago — priced at £40 million — but did not sell.
However, agents Wetherell believe that a price cut and the turbo-charged buying power of the dollar will quickly attract offers. The five-storey home is also likely to appeal because of its connections with the royal family.
The romantic fiction writer’s daughter Raine Spencer — stepmother of King Charles’s first wife Diana, Princess of Wales — grew up in the house which also hosted her debutante party and the reception for her marriage to the future Earl of Dartmouth. It was also the birthplace of Tory prime minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home.
The 120-year-old home — commissioned by stockbroker and Liberal politician Sir Cuthbert Quilter has six bedrooms and six reception rooms.
The Arts & Crafts façade, the main timber staircase and decorative ceilings are among original features and there is a Regency-era Robert Adam marble fireplace, added during a Nineties renovation.
A lavish basement swimming pool, sauna and bar were installed by the current owners, who also put in a double bed suspended above the end of the pool.
A large planted terrace on the first floor, a romantic, curved terrace opening off the second-floor master bedroom and a roof terrace with views over London offer private outdoor space.
It is one of a series of trophy homes that have gone on the market in recent weeks as the pound has fallen. Prices in central London’s most exclusive streets are 30 per cent or more cheaper in dollar terms than their peak in 2014 — when the pound was at $1.70 — before stamp duty reforms hit top end property values. Today the pound was trading at $1.105.
Founder and chairman Peter Wetherell said: “With the strength of the US dollar against the British pound, we have seen a huge upturn in inquiries from US dollar based buyers. Currently dollar buyers are effectively getting a 30 per cent discount on buying a property in London, which covers stamp duty and moving in costs.”
The property in South Street would see £4.1 million payable in stamp duty tax or, as is more likely, a bill of £5.2 million should the buyer own additional property in the UK.
Stuart Bennett, head of sales at Beauchamp Estates in Mayfair, said: “Since the latest mini-budget, we have seen a 40 per cent rise in applicants purchasing in dollars looking for homes priced £5 million plus.”
Dame Barbara Cartland’s River Cottage in Bedfordshire, which she and her family called home between 1941 and 1949, was also for sale earlier this year for £1 million. Pink details in a bedroom, garden planting and on three external doors are a “mark of respect” to the late author, according to agents.
