The vast apartment at 18 Grosvenor Square is where Howard Hughes and Hadley Page negotiated for hours a sale of his aviation company in 1959.
Wetherell
A four-bedroom flat once owned by British aviation tycoon Sir Frederick Handley Page has just hit the market with a £18.7 million ($23.6 million) price tag.
The recently refurbished apartment at 18 Grosvenor Square in the West End provides 3,541 sq ft of space.
A sale for its quoting price would reflect £5,295 per sq ft, making it one of the priciest homes in the prestigious square.
Flat 3 features a large family kitchen and breakfast room, study, gallery and a guest powder room.
It also has access to the neighboring Four Seasons Residence Health Club and Spa at 20 Grosvenor square, which includes a 25-meter pool with pool and spa, gym, library, private garden, terrace, meeting room and 18-seat private cinema.
Wetherell
“With its iconic address and garden square views this expansive Mayfair residence at 18 Grosvenor Square is the finest newly refurbished apartment in Grosvenor Square,” said Peter Wetherell, chief executive of Wetherell, which is handling the sale.
“It is here that aviation pioneer Sir Frederick Handley Page lived and entertained for almost two decades with guests including war heroes, captains of industry, Royalty and American tycoon Howard Hughes. This is an exceptional trophy property, which would serve as an excellent long-term investment and main London residence.”
Sir Frederick Handley Page
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Handley Page (1885-1962), who is remembered on the building’s façade by an English Heritage Blue Plaque, was an aircraft designer and manufacturer pioneer.
Known as “the father of the heavy bomber”, Page founded his firm, Hadley Page Limited, in 1909 – the first UK’s public company to build aircraft. It designed and built, among others, the Handley Page 0/400 and Halifax bombers.
At 18 Grosvenor Square in 1959, Page received Howard Hughes to discuss a sale of the company to the American magnate’s Hughes Aircraft Company but despite hours of negotiations a sale was not agreed.
Page was knighted in 1942 by King George VI for his contributions to the First and Second World War.