Only Home In The World

Savills and Aston Chase have confirmed the sale of the former London home of Rihanna, the global music icon, a magnificent 6,332 square feet(588sqm) double-fronted eight-bedroom house on St John’s Wood Park, purchased by a family from overseas, the sale of the famous house, listed for £27.5 million, being one of the most significant sales in 2023 in North West London.

Barbadian singer, songwriter, businesswoman and actress, Rihanna is widely regarded as one of the most prominent singers of the 21st century. Known for her distinctive and versatile voice, with chart-topping songs such as Umbrella, Rude Boy and We Found Love, alongside her fashionable appearance. She was also known for her beauty and fashion lines and has even dabbled in Hollywood, staring in Battleships and Oceans 8.

Rihanna used the luxurious mansion on St John’s Wood Park as her base for 2.5 years whilst renting in London, with her own media interviews and Instagram stories filmed in the house leading to wide global reporting in the press and social media about her time in London. This included widespread publicity about her enjoyment of the large kitchen for ice cream desserts, the huge garden for relaxation, her love of local walks and even Rihanna shopping at Sainsburys. Such is her fame that the house is now even marked on Google Earth as “Rihanna’s home”.

Fully refurbished and modernised the house provides multiple reception and family rooms, formal and casual dining rooms, a study/library, family kitchen and a gymnasium providing a weights room area and exercise studio. The house opens onto a 21-foot terrace overlooking a 126-foot-deep by 130-foot wide rear garden, an exceptional and private green oasis.

Significantly, the property also has the benefit of detailed and implemented planning consent for enlargement to a 16,000 square feet residence including a health spa with swimming pool, sauna, steam room and massage/beauty treatment facilities.

This sale also marks one of many successful collaborations between Savills and Aston Chase in St John’s Wood over a period of many years.

Stephen Lindsay, Savills (Head of North London and St John’s Wood Office), says: “Savills is delighted to have introduced the buyer and successfully sold this famous house on St John’s Wood Park in one of the biggest deals in St John’s Wood in 2023. This is an extremely special house, the only one of Royal architect John Shaw’s original villas on St John’s Wood Park to have survived into the twenty first century. The substantial price achieved firmly underlines the value and quality of this unique trophy home and the enduring appeal of St John’s Wood with buyers from both the UK and from around the world.”

Mark Pollack, Co-Founding Director of Aston Chase says: “London is still widely regarded as the best city in the world from a cultural, educational, legal system, and politically stability perspective so, for those wanting to establish a home in a safe destination it is an obvious choice in the knowledge that they will also potentially benefit from meaningful capital growth over a period of time. The recent spate of super-prime sales in London reflects these considerations and the demand having a ‘Plan B’ which many Chinese and Hong Kong entrepreneurs benefit from. Also, this sale at circa £3,500 per square feet represents a record price for the St John’s Wood area reflecting the substantial planning consent obtained, the large plot and the secure carriage drive which are amenities normally associated with homes further out in the suburbs of London.”

Mark Pollack highlights that buyers are attracted to the leafy village ambience of St John’s Wood, the stock of large family houses and villas and the proximity to the West End and the City. The location is also home to many celebrities and the recent regeneration of St John’s Wood High Street will result in one of the best local high streets in London. Pollack says that deals like this inevitably boost the market and provide a ripple of confidence for other vendors and purchasers in the immediate area.

Image Credit: Aston Chase/Tony Murray Photography 

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