Property of the fortnight: Former Belgravia guest house Ormonde House in need of a £2m cash injection
Belgravia is London’s land of grandeur, of embassies and white stucco-fronted mansions owned by Arab princes. It’s hardly the place you’d expect to find a fixer-upper, but Ormonde House is exactly that. And all it needs now is a millionaire with grand designs.
It used to be a guest house, nestled in between Sloane Square and Eaton Square, which accounts for the fact it has nine bedrooms. Living space is spread over six storeys and 6,000sqft and it comes with full planning permission to convert it into a four-bedroom townhouse, with a dressing room off the master bedroom, alongside a family room and study. Its estate agent estimates that, with a serious cash investment and some TLC, it could be a truly smart family home.
“It requires a thorough renovation, but it also offers real value for money and the opportunity to tailor a home to one’s requirements,” says David Lee, head of sales at Pastor Real Estate. “It is currently on the market for £10.8m and requires between £1.7m to £2m worth of work. Subject to the extent and quality of refurbishment, a house like this could achieve a value in the range of £14.5m to £16m, which still offers buyers value for money per square foot.”
Most of Belgravia was developed by the Grosvenor Estate in 1865, but Eaton Gate, where Ormonde House sits, is rather unusual architecturally as it wasn’t built until 1905. Architects Balfour and Turner eschewed the white stucco favoured by Cubitt and Cundy for red brick and stone, which was more fashionable at the time.
Turner, in particular, was an admirer of the Arts and Crafts movement, so sprinkled the house with detailing and decorative work that remains today, including high ceilings, marble floors, ornate plasterwork, a decorative fireplace and a grand dog-leg staircase. There’s even an original wood and mirror-panelled lift to all floors.
The guide price for Ormonde House is £10.8m. Pastor Real Estate: 020 3195 9595: pastorrealestate.com