Belgravia shock: your view on Michelle Mone’s £23m home sold for £17.8m to 20-year-old buyer

A grand Belgravia townhouse with a pool, cinema and cigar room has quietly changed hands after a turbulent year.

Land Registry records confirm a sale in October 2023 for £17.8 million. The buyer is 20-year-old racing driver Freddie Tomlinson. The guide price had stood at £23 million in 2022.

Who bought the house and why it matters

Documents show Tomlinson purchased the six-bedroom Georgian townhouse in his own name. The deeds also reveal that the property came with an adjoining mews house on the same title. His father, the entrepreneur Lawrence Tomlinson, arranged a mortgage in connection with the deal, according to the filing. The Sunday Times Rich List has previously estimated the elder Tomlinson’s wealth at around £525 million.

The move marks a striking entry into prime central London for a buyer barely out of his teens. It also underlines how even trophy homes can trade below ambitious asking prices when market sentiment weakens and sales drag on. The property last changed hands in 1997, before being comprehensively updated.

Sold for £17.8 million in October 2023 — roughly £5 million under a 2022 guide of £23 million.

• Location: one of Belgravia’s most exclusive addresses
• Tenure: six-bedroom Georgian townhouse plus adjoining mews house
• Recorded price: £17.8 million
• Guide price (2022): £23 million
• Buyer: Freddie Tomlinson, 20
• Financing: mortgage taken out by Lawrence Tomlinson
• Previous sale: 1997

Inside the seven-floor residence

High-spec upgrades and indulgences

The early 19th-century house extends over more than 6,000 square feet across seven floors. A major programme of works expanded and modernised the building, pairing Georgian proportions with contemporary systems. A digital home automation backbone runs through the property. Premium air conditioning and comfort cooling serve the principal rooms.

The kitchen suite features Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances. A separate chef’s kitchen sits behind the scenes, supporting entertaining on a lavish scale. Below stairs, the leisure level packs in a 25-foot swimming pool, a jacuzzi, a steam room and a fully equipped gym.

Pool, cinema, wine cellar with humidity-controlled cigar storage — a private members’ club behind a Belgravia façade.

There is a dedicated cinema room for screening nights. A temperature-controlled wine store includes a humidor-style setup for cigars. Outside, the home offers a courtyard terrace and rare off-street parking for two cars.

Planning and craftsmanship

Planning paperwork from 2015 lists extensive refurbishment. Almost all internal doors were replaced, along with cornices, architraves and skirting. A dumb waiter was added to move food between floors, and the original stone staircase was painstakingly restored. Interiors gained solid parquet floors, marble bathrooms and high-end fixtures.

Not every design note is conventional. One floor houses a dark, panelled study adjoining the dining room. Another level opens to a “garden atrium” set around a tall water feature. The blend of classical shell and bold finishes gives the house a distinct personality across its seven levels.

The legal and ownership context

The townhouse has been associated in reporting with Baroness Michelle Mone, though the ownership structure has sat with companies linked to her husband, businessman Doug Barrowman. Representatives for the couple have clarified that companies connected to Mr Barrowman purchased the property in 2015 and undertook the refurbishment before his relationship with Baroness Mone began.

Separate to the sale, the National Crime Agency has been investigating matters involving entities linked to the couple. In 2023, a court order froze or restrained assets valued at approximately £75 million, and the Belgravia townhouse formed part of that schedule. Properties on the Isle of Man and another Belgravia address also came under scrutiny in 2022 searches. Mr Barrowman has maintained in public statements and court filings that PPE gowns supplied during the pandemic complied with sterilisation standards. Baroness Mone has depicted the court ruling as a victory for the establishment. The sale reported here sits apart from the merits of that case but forms part of a broader picture that has kept the couple in the headlines.

Clarified by representatives: the property belonged to companies linked to Doug Barrowman, not to Baroness Mone personally.

Why the price dropped by about £5 million

Prime central London has had to adjust to higher interest rates, a thinner pool of international buyers and tougher tax headwinds. That cocktail increased time on market for luxury listings, widened bid-ask spreads and encouraged negotiated discounts.

Several forces likely intersected in this transaction:

• Ambitious 2022 guide price colliding with the 2023 rate shock and weaker sentiment.
• A highly specified, idiosyncratic interior that will delight some buyers and put off others.
• Rarity value of a mews house on the same title balanced by the complexity that can bring.
• The visibility of legal proceedings around associated parties, which can narrow demand.
• The long marketing cycle for ultra-prime homes, where single-digit offers can sit for months before moving.

Belgravia retains strong global appeal. Yet even here, price discovery has become more brutal. Where once sellers might have held out for the label price, today’s market rewards readiness to meet the best credible bid.

What it means for you

If you are selling at the top end, realism on price and presentation matters. Commission a frank pre-list valuation, not a flattering number designed to win the instruction. Fix the friction points that stop buyers moving from admiration to offer — AV upgrades past their prime, lighting that dates a room, or bathrooms that now jar against the rest of the scheme.

If you are buying, bring data to the negotiation. Ask for Land Registry comparables within the last 12 months on the same street or the immediate grid. Remember that rare add-ons — a mews house, a larger garden, secure parking — justify a premium, but only if they suit how you will live.

A quick tax sense-check

Stamp duty land tax on a £17.8 million purchase can exceed £2 million for a buyer purchasing a sole main home, based on current banded rates. Second-home surcharges and non-resident levies add to that. The practical bill depends on your status, so model scenarios before you make an offer.

Example only (approximate, subject to change): a London buyer acquiring a primary residence at £17.8 million faces a liability a little over £2.0 million under standard rates. A second-home purchaser adds a 3% surcharge across the full price, lifting the bill by more than half a million pounds. Professional advice is prudent before exchange.

Checklist for ultra-prime deals

• Title: confirm any linked titles (such as a mews) and shared access rights.
• Systems: verify age and service history of automation, HVAC and pool plant.
• Planning: review permissions and completion certificates for past works.
• Running costs: budget for specialist maintenance and on-call contractors.
• Security: assess discrete, layered measures appropriate to a high-profile address.

For those watching Belgravia, this sale signals a market where cash-rich buyers still act, but only at prices that respect 2023–24 realities. If you plan to transact in the coming months, assume a forensic negotiation, a premium for turnkey quality and a penalty for anything that looks like homework left undone.

Finally, consider liquidity. Even the most glamorous townhouse can linger if the pool of global buyers is shallow. A sharper guide price, clean legal pack and a pre-emptive service of mechanical systems can shave months off a sale and protect value when sentiment wobbles.