Wrecked home on sale for £50m, with £20m of repairs

A Grade II listed mansion, which has spent years in decline and is now a wreck, has gone on the market in London for £50 million.

The terraced property in the middle of Mayfair is expected to attract keen interest from the world's super-rich, who will need to spend a further £20 million on a full renovation.

Once transformed, 39 Charles Street could be transformed into one of the UK's finest city homes worth a staggering £100 million.

The mid-18th Century home will boast seven palatial bedroom suites, eight state rooms, a leisure complex and private cinema when completed.

The main bedroom suite will be spread across 2,000 sq/ft, which is twice the size of the average new UK home, and includes his and hers dressing rooms and bathrooms.

There will an eight person lift, a mews home for guests or staff, a wine room, office, catering kitchen and a number of high security vaults.

The property currently has listed Chinese wallpaper and silk wall mountings which will be removed and reinstated as part of the refurbishment.

The market price is more that 300 times the average price of a house sold in England and Wales - and the price could end up rising with the possibility of offers coming via sealed bids.

Peter Wetherell, managing director of Wetherell Estate Agents, expects four types of people to look at the home - Oil royals, African moguls, billionaires and property developers.

The £50 million home on Charles Street is thought to have been built after 1750 by John Phillips and George Shakespeare after entering an agreement with Lord Berkeley of Stratton whose ancestors had acquired the land during the reign of Charles II.

Previous residents have included George Fieschi Heneage, MP for Lincolnshire (1836-1867), The Earl of Camperdown (1867-1918) and The Marquis of Anglesea in 1920.

After World War Two, 39 Charles Street like many Mayfair properties was converted to commercial use.