Front facade of 28 Old Queen Street
Beauchamp Estates
A London townhouse belonging to the Canadian Benisti family is on for sale for $21.9 million. The 28 Old Queen Street house, which has five bedrooms, hit the market last week.
The grade II listed Georgian mansion was the home of Coutts & Co banking heiress Harriet Beauclerk in the 19th century. The property, which overlooks St James’s Park, is owned by the Benisti family who own the Montreal-based clothing brand Point Zero.
The main double reception room at 28 Old Queen Street
Beauchamp Estates
The listing comes a week after the Benisti family sold a townhouse on the same street for $19 million. The sale made it the most expensive home sold during the U.K.’s coronavirus lockdown. It sold at $2,902 per square foot, which broke price records for the St. James’s Park area, according to its selling agent Beauchamp Estates.
The house is part of a portfolio of properties that the Benisti family own in prime central London via its family office, said Jeremy Gee, managing director at Beauchamp Estates. “The successful sale of No 26 has given the owners the confidence to instruct us to sell No. 28,” he said. The Benisti Family Office is also selling a 3-bedroom apartment in Bayswater for $8.88 million.
The family kitchen at 28 Old Queen Street
Beauchamp Estates
26 Old Queen Street was bought by a Russian billionaire, who owns a leading energy group, according to Beauchamp Estates. The home, which was originally listed for $19.7 million, sold on May 15 two days after U.K. estate agencies were allowed to restart house viewings.
Designed by architect Sir Robert Taylor, 28 Old Queen Street is an 8-story house is a refurbished and modernised Georgian townhouse, with 6,608 square feet of living space and a private rear garden, which overlooks Birdcage Walk and St. James’s Park. It has grand reception rooms, a lift to all floors, wine store and a private cinema/media room with terrace, according to its sales details.
Duplex master bedroom suite bedroom at 28 Old Queen Street
Beauchamp Estates
The property was the London home of Harriet Beauclerk, a British actress who was married to Thomas Coutts, the founder of the Coutts & Co bank. Upon his death in 1822 she inherited his entire fortune. In 1827 she became the Duchess of St Albans after she married William Beauclerk, the 9th Duke of St Albans, who owned 28 Old Queen Street. The duchess gave Beauclerk the funds to lavishly redecorate the property, according to its sales details.
For sale for £3,210 per square foot, or for rent (rental price has not yet been released), 28 Old Queen Street is being sold by the Benisti Family Office, who have a global retail, hotel and property empire, according to Beauchamp Estates. It includes PointZero, Canada’s No.1 retail business that was founded in 1979 by husband and wife Maurice and Nicole Benisti.
The front drawing room at 28 Old Queen Street
Beauchamp Estates
A spokesman for the Benisti Family Office said: “Our expectation is for houses to outperform flats in the £10 million-plus marketplace due to the changing consumer behaviour triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Buyers are wanting more space, a private garden and direct access to a park.”