Wetherell

Laura Dixon

The newest penthouses in Mayfair sit on the eighth floor of Avenfield House above Park Lane, with views in one direction over Hyde Park; in the other, over the area’s distinctive redbrick houses towards the London Eye and the City.

The two apartments — both four-bedroom duplexes — cover about 10,000 sq ft, enormous for this part of London. With interiors designed by Nicky Haslam, Morpheus, the developer, believes that they could be the capital’s flashest penthouses.

“Each apartment is the size of a townhouse,” says the company’s Andrew Murray. “I would say they are the most impressive penthouses in London, if not the world.”

Soon to be rented at £25,000 a week, their launch is emblematic of the spectacular recovery of the super- prime market. On its knees in the dark days of early this year, the market for the finest homes is again awash with foreign and City money. Deals to rival boom-time records are again being done for the best properties.

The two penthouses — which have an exclusive Park Lane address but none of the noise — have been ten years in the making. The internal renovations (at a cost of £500 per sq ft) have been dramatic: the living/dining room is a huge lateral space that spans the width of the building.

Haslam’s interiors are an eccentric mix of the sleek and the quirky. The main suites have his-and-hers Italian marble bathrooms, while the banisters for the stairs leading to the first floor are made of cut crystal. “It all has a slightly Hollywood style,” he says. “The ceilings are so high that you can use enormous furniture. It is astonishing — you feel on top of the world.”

The owner thought about living in one of the penthouses, but decided instead to let both from January.

Luxury like this doesn’t come cheap, of course. But £25,000 a week? Peter Wetherell, of Wetherell, the agent managing the properties, rented a Mayfair property near by for £36,000 a week several years ago. The tenant stayed for almost a year. Meanwhile, WA Ellis marketed a property recently on Brick Street, with car lift and cinema, at £40,000 a week (the asking price has since been reduced to £30,000). It says that an international celebrity will be the probable tenant.

Wetherell says that whoever rents one of the Park Lane penthouses will be the type to take the presidential suite in a five-star hotel. “Someone who wants a toe in the water in London and who wants the international address of Park Lane. You’ve got the bling, and the view.”

This article was published by The Times on 11th December 2009. Please click here to view