Wetherell have sold a £25 million 8,435 sqft Mayfair mansion on Park Street, which prior to a recent refurbishment had served for many decades as the Cyprus Embassy, purchased by a buyer from the Middle East who wanted a grand family home in London.
Wetherell highlight that the Gulf purchaser liked the fact that the five bedroom mansion had been recently refurbished and modernised. Other appealing features were the four palatial reception rooms, passenger lift and direct access to large Green Street communal gardens.
The six floor Edwardian mansion was originally built in 1913, designed by Wimperis and Simpson. World War I delayed the fit out of the mansion so it was not ready for occupation until 1925 and was then purchased by Sir Louis Bernhard Baron (1876-1934) and his wife, Elsie, Lady Baron (1887-1983). Sir Louis was a wealthy British tobacco tycoon who was managing director of the Carreras Tobacco Company, which became Rothmans International and is now British American Tobacco.
In 1959 Elsie sold the Park Street mansion to the newly formed Government of Cyprus and the property then served for many decades as a grand Embassy for the Cyprus High Commission. When the Cyprus High Commission relocated to 13 St James’s Square the mansion reverted to being a private residence.
In August 2023, following a lavish refurbishment, the Park Street mansion was exclusively offered for sale on a rare-for-Mayfair freehold basis by sole agent Wetherell.
The accommodation includes a reception hall, four palatial reception rooms on the ground and first floor, a principal bedroom suite occupying the entire second floor and further bedroom suites on the upper floors. On the lower ground floor is a professional chef’s kitchen, utility room, storage vaults, wine store and a staff flat, providing a kitchen/living room, bedroom and bathroom.
The property was being sold unfurnished and Wetherell highlight that this was a potential challenge since for Mayfair properties priced above £15 million buyers tend to prefer to visualise the homes fully dressed and interior designed.
Wetherell’s novel solution was to commission multi-award-winning design studio Casa E Progetti, which specialises in virtual staging (taking photos of empty rooms and dressing them with CGI furniture and accessories) to CGI interior design and dress the mansion in order to create stunning marketing visuals for the Park Street mansion.
Wetherell say that the CGI staging really assisted the purchaser to visualise how the mansion would look dressed, and the virtual dressing helped to play a key role in the marketing and sale of the house.
Wetherell say that the Mayfair residential market has been extremely buoyant over the last few years. The latest Wetherell 2024 Mayfair Market Report shows that during 2023 some £527 million worth of homes were sold in Mayfair with buyers from the Middle East and India being the key buyers purchasing large houses and mansions and buyers from Britain, Western Europe, India and Pakistan purchasing apartments.
Wetherell say that Mayfair is now the most sought after and valued address in London the six year average showing the average sales price in Mayfair is now £20.35 million, beating Knightsbridge (£19.95m), Kensington (£19.11m), Belgravia (£16.4m) and Chelsea (£14.6million).
Peter Wetherell, Founder & Chairman of Wetherell says: “This magnificent former Embassy on Park Street was converted back into a mansion and has been purchased by an international buyer who wanted a family home in Mayfair. A series of houses and mansions have been sold in Mayfair over the last few months purchased by families from the Middle East and India.”
Robert Dawson, Sales Director at Wetherell who handled the sale says: “Wetherell is delighted to have managed the sale of this magnificent Mayfair mansion. With its beautiful reception rooms, passenger lift, access to the Green Street gardens and spacious bedroom suites this house provided the perfect choice for a discerning family who wanted a London base in Mayfair.”
For further information on the finest homes available to buy or let in Mayfair contact Wetherell on Tel: +44 (0)20 7529 5566 or visit www.wetherell.co.uk
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