2–8a Rutland Gate

2–8a Rutland Gate is a large white stuccoed house originally built as a terrace of four houses in the mid 19th-century. The four houses were later converted into a single property.[3] A competition to redesign the house was held in 1982 and won by the architectural firm YRM. The present 2–8a Rutland Gate was built between 1985 and 1987, replacing 2 Rutland Gate and 4–8a Rutland Gate, a group of 1930s houses. The Survey of London describes the design of the present 2–8a Rutland Gate as "One of YRM's least Modern designs ... the building comprises a rather bland white palazzo."[2]

In 2012, the house was described as having seven storeys and 45 bedrooms, with a total size of 60,000 sq ft. The interior of 2–8a Rutland Gate has a swimming pool, underground parking, several lifts, and substantial interior decoration of gold leaf. The interior of the house was described as having been decorated by Monzer Hammoud by The Guardian and by the French designer Alberto Pinto by the Evening Standard in July 2015.[3] The windows of the house are believed to be bulletproof.[4]

2–8a Rutland Gate has been likened to two other palatial London houses, Bridgewater House in St James's, and Dudley House in Mayfair.[1]

Since 1982, 2–8a Rutland Gate has been owned by Yunak Corporation, registered in the Dutch Antilles tax haven of Curaçao. The house was the London residence of the former Prime Minister of Lebanon and billionaire businessman Rafic Hariri, until his assassination in 2005. Following Hariri's death, the house was given as a gift to the then–Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (1928–2011), who had business links with Hariri.[4] In 2012, 2–8a Rutland Gate was reported to be for sale at an asking price of £300 million, which would have made it the most expensive house in Britain if realized, surpassing the £140 million paid for Park Place in Berkshire by the Russian banker Andrey Borodin.[1]

The house remained unsold and was later valued at £140 million in early 2015.[5] In June 2015, contents from the property were put up for auction in a 1,252 lot sale lasting two days. Items for sale included Murano glass chandeliers, gold plated waste paper bins, and 24 marble bathrooms.[4]

A loan of £55 million to fund the cost of stripping out the property was secured against the house in December 2014, issued by Omni Capital Partners, a financial services company owned by the property developers Christian and Nick Candy.[3] After 2–8a Rutland Gate had not sold by July 2015, the Saudi owners of the property were planning to turn the house into luxury apartments.[5]

In January 2020, Chinese businessman Cheung Chung-kiu was in the process of buying the property for between £205 and £210 million, which would make it easily the most expensive house ever sold in the UK.[6]