The conversion of a listed mansion in Piccadilly into Britain’s most expensive private home has been approved.
Westminster planners waved the £200 million scheme through after developers made a last-minute offer to increase their contribution to affordable housing in central London.
Billionaire brothers Simon and David Reuben, who bought the former In and Out Club for £130 million in July 2011, originally offered the council £1.8 million. The Conservative-run local authority said this was unacceptable and was set to refuse the scheme after demanding almost £7 million. But the Reubens raised their offer to £5.5 million shortly before Tuesday night’s planning committee meeting and permission was granted.
The dilapidated Mayfair property dating back to the 1750s — formerly Lord Palmerston’s London townhouse — was for more than a century the home of the Naval and Military Club famed for its gateposts marked “In” and “Out”.
The brothers plan to create a vast 11-bedroom, nine-bathroom home with an underground swimming pool, an 85ft ballroom and a 35,000-bottle wine cellar, worth up to £200 million.
