Saudi royal family member’s former London mansion goes on sale for £12.5m

Auctioneers predict eight-bedroom Hampstead home will prove popular with international buyers

The eight-bedroom mansion in Hampstead, London, once owned by a member of the Saudi Royal family, that is on sale for £12.5 million ($14.7m). All photos: Aston Chase

The reception room of the house.

A home cinema.

The exterior of the house. Hampstead is one of the British capital's most desirable neighbourhoods.

The entrance hall.

The family kitchen and breakfast area.

The dining room.

Built in 1935, the home was designed by famed British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens and is a Grade II listed property. It measures 1028 square metres and is set on a 0.24 hectare plot.

The principal bedroom suite.

The main bathroom.

A guest bedroom suite.

A former mansion that once belonged to members of Saudi Arabia's royal family has gone on sale in London with a £12.5 million ($14.7m) price tag.

The vast eight-bedroom property, known as Fairwood, is located in Hampstead Garden Suburb, one of the capital's most desirable neighbourhoods.

Built in 1935, the home was designed by famed British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens and is a Grade II listed property, measuring 11,066 square feet and set on a 0.25 hectare plot.

The luxury home includes a triple-height galleried entrance hall, three reception rooms, a library, a family room, a 36ft drawing room, as well as a cinema room and gym.

Near Ingram Avenue, Fairwood is only a short distance from 'Billionaires' Row', so-called due to the large number of ultra-wealthy residents who live on the 66-home street, which previously included the Sultan of Brunei and Justin Bieber.

Property background

Auctioneers say the mansion has an illustrious history that combines "royalty, aristocracy, noted political figures and captains of industry".

Previous owners include the McKenna banking dynasty, who lived there in the 1930s onwards. Members of the Saudi royal family bought the home and lived there from the early 1960s until 2002.

The house was then purchased by new owners who extended and rebuilt the property behind its original facade in 2006.

The home was originally commissioned by Reginald McKenna, a banker and a senior Liberal politician who served as chancellor under British prime minister Herbert Asquith.

It was intended as a wedding present for his son David and his new daughter-in-law Lady Cecelia Keppel.

What the auctioneers say

Marc Schneiderman, principal of Arlington Residential, said the home was a "landmark property on a remarkable plot".

Auctioneers say the property is expected to be popular with international buyers who have flooded back into the London property market in recent months.

The sellers say the location, which is near a number of elite North London schools and Hampstead Heath, makes it a "compelling" prospect.