Bids close next Tuesday for 31 Brompton Square, the Grade II listed Knightsbridge mansion that was formerly the home of Achilleas Kallakis, the Mayfair property magnate awaiting trial for multimillion-pound fraud.
Offers from British and international would-be buyers to buy the mansion out of receivership are expected to exceed the £20 million guide price, although at least another £10 million needs to be spent to complete the makeover at the house begun by the 42-year-old Mr Kallakis.
The eight-bedroom house is in the hands of Begbies Traynor Group, the receiver acting for Barclays Wealth, which has a mortgage on the property. Once the revamp is completed, the property’s value could reach more than £45 million, given the scarcity of such residences in Central London. Homes in the capital’s most expensive postcodes have confirmed their status this year as the safe haven for the world’s wealthy.
Mr Kallakis, a former travel agent, who comes to trial in September on charges of deception, money laundering and fraud against Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Scotland, was involved in deals such as the purchase of the freehold of the Telegraph headquarters in Victoria.
But it appears that the expansion plans closest to his heart began at home. Behind the house, there is a vast hole several storeys deep, dug for the building of an extension with underground parking, a pool, a spa and the other essentials of contemporary living for the super-rich.
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Charlie Noel-Buxton, of Cluttons, the estate agent handling the sale, describes steel walls erected for a panic room in the basement. Mr Kallakis had planning permission for everything except this feature.
Mr Noel-Buxton said that workers downed tools at the property in 2008. In 2009 the Serious Fraud Office raided Mr Kallakis’s premises after allegations that his empire was founded on fraudulent leases, which were used to win £56 million worth of loans from AIB and finance from other banks. Mr Noel-Buxton said: “We’re not necessarily looking for the highest offer; we want the best buyer.”
Aspiring purchasers of 31 Bromptom Square must give proof of their status before they even receive the passwords to the website set up for the property. There they will find more information about how the house could be transformed from its current state into a 23,000 sq ft trophy home, with the largest private garden in Knightsbridge and a pleasure palace below.