Home Renovation Knightsbridge

Hong Kong Billionaire’s 2-8a Rutland Gate Home Renovation Knightsbridge

Formerly, 2-8a Rutland Gate, and the planned home renovation Knightsbridge project, was Britain’s most expensive property. Until, however, John Caudwell bought his £250-million mega mansion in Mayfair. To read our last post on the billionaire founder of Phones4U’s renovation project, click here. Here, we take a look at the vast Knightsbridge property, which looks over the iconic Hyde Park.

Earlier this year, Hong Kong billionaire and property tycoon Cheung Chung-Kiu[2] bought the property for $276 million. Later, it emerged that he planned to spend a further $277 million on the home renovation Knightsbridge project. Further exploring this trend, we take a look into the Hong Kong billionaire’s Rutland Gate project.

2-8a Rutland Gate, Knightsbridge, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

• Overlooks Hyde Park
• Built in the mid-1800s
• Originally four terraced houses
• Converted into large single property in the 1980s
• Former London residence of ex-Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri
• Gifted to Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
• Put on sale in 2012 with an asking price of £300 million
• Remained unsold and valued at £140 million in early 2015
• Interior design features, such as glass chandeliers and gold-plated bids auctioned in June 2015

Cheung Chung-Kiu’s Home Renovation Knighstbridge

Prior to Cheung Chung-Kiu’s buying the property, it included:

• 7 storeys
• 45 bedrooms
• 60,000 sq ft
• 5,600 sq m
• A swimming pool
• Underground parking
• Several elevators
• Interior decorations in gold leaf
• Bulletproof windows

Cheung Chung-Kiu’s $276 million renovation plans submitted to Westminster City Council include:

• Claims the property is “heavily dilapidated”
• The argument that it needs “extensive refurbishment prior to occupation”
• Structural works
• Demolition works
• Excavation works
• Domestic refurbishments
• Basement excavation

Peter Wetherell, of Wetherell real-estate agency has stated that after renovation the property could value up to £500 million.