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West Ham owner David Sullivan - the 75 year old who made his fortune with adult magazine and the Daily Sport - has been in the news claiming that the incoming crackdown on non-doms (those who’s permanent home is outside the UK for tax purposes), is affecting the high-end of the London market.
Such is the problem that he’s had to take £10 million off the original £75 million asking price for his famous Marylebone property. He bought it for £27m in 2015 from property developer Edward Davenport, and spent £50m renovating it. “I’m selling it at a loss now, but you have to be realistic,” Sullivan told Bloomberg, “What the government is doing to the non-doms isn’t very nice, and a lot of rich people are leaving the country as a results of what they anticipate in the budget.”
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The 10-bedroom house is now on the market for £65 million with Knight Frank.
The news of Sullivan’s difficulties is a surprise given the iconic nature of the property. Built in 1779 by architect Robert Adam, 33 Portland Place is a Grade II listed mansion, it has been the scene for wild parties - Davenport once apparently filled the swimming pool with 1,000 litres of cognac - as well as some of the Noughties’ biggest pop culture moments.
In 2006, Kate Moss shot a campaign for Agent Provocateur. The image of Moss descending the staircase in haute couture lingerie was the cover image for a series of four short films created by the supermodel for the brand collectively titled The Four Dreams of Miss X.
That same year, Amy Winehouse used the mansion as the set for her music video for her hit song Rehab. The faded grandeur and peeling wallpaper was a splendidly squalid backdrop for the number, which sees her surrounded by her backing band dressed in bath robes as she rises from a bed on the floor and heads to a vintage bathroom.
Portland Place also was used as a set for the 2011 film The King’s Speech, which starred Colin Firth in the titular role. The house was the set for Lionel Logue’s consulting rooms in the Oscar-winning film.
When Sullivan bought it, he undertook a major restoration project. “‘It was run down and tired when I bought it and I spent just under £50m on a seven-year renovation which was a labour of love,” Sullivan told Tatler.
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The extensive renovation of the property was designed to sensitively pay tribute to the heritage of the building and its Grade II* listed Adam interiors, which include remarkable ceilings and friezes and that iconic staircase.
The property's beautifully appointed interior contains 20,987 sq ft (1,949.8 sq m) of internal floor area set across six storeys and incorporates a completely rebuilt mews house to the rear, for guests.
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The property offers a range of formal and more informal rooms for entertaining, with a particularly notable feature being the hydraulic wall in the ground floor reception room that lowers to reveal the grand, formal dining room beyond.
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There is a lift servicing all floors and two garages, accessed via the mews.
Further features include a 12.7m swimming pool, hot tub, sauna, full commercial kitchen, treatment room, wine cellar, gym and sky lounge with roof terrace.
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“It’s been virtually rebuilt, and the entire structure has been reinforced with steel.”
While period details have been preserved, the faded grandeur has been replaced with hand-painted wallpapers, marble bathtubs, and glittering chandeliers.
The interiors are by design studio 1508, and it is available in turn-key condition.
