A London mansion that Rihanna was renting for £18,000 a week has been sold to an undisclosed Chinese buyer for £27.5m.
The sale of the eight-bedroom, 588 square metre (6,332 sq ft) St John’s Wood house, which became famous for its role in the background of the singer’s social media posts, was agreed on Monday for almost £5m less than it was originally listed for in 2020.
The white stucco detached villa was built in 1844 by William Holme Twentyman for the De Beers diamond tycoon Daniel Francis.
Rihanna, who is famous for songs including Diamonds, lived in the house from 2018 to 2020 and often filmed content for her Instagram channel in the vast property. One story went viral when fans spotted a Sainsbury’s bag for life in the background in the kitchen.
The house has multiple reception rooms, formal and casual dining rooms, a study, and a gym with a weights room area and exercise studio. The house opens on to a 6.4-metre terrace overlooking a 38-metre garden.
It has planning consent to be enlarged to create a 1,486 sq metre residence including a health spa with swimming pool, a sauna, a steam room and beauty treatment rooms.
Stephen Lindsay, of the estate agent Savills, said: “This is an extremely special house, the only one of royal architect John Shaw’s original villas on St John’s Wood Park to have survived into the 21st century. The substantial price achieved firmly underlines the value and quality of this unique trophy home and the enduring appeal of St John’s Wood with buyers from both the UK and from around the world.”
Mark Pollack, a co-founding director of the agents Aston Chase, which handled the sale alongside Savills, said: “This sale is indicative of the surge in demand from Chinese buyers for super-prime homes in London. As a result of an inability to travel during the pandemic, many wealthy Chinese and Hong Kong residents are prioritising a ‘plan B’ in the eventuality of another unforeseen event leading to the Chinese government restricting movement.”
