Sky high living: Penthouses are all the rage - and not just for millionaires

By Zoe Hedges For Daily Mail

Updated:

This year a penthouse is at the top of everyone’s property wish list. Never before has living it up been so appealing.

Of course, sweeping views, a serviced lifestyle and prime location come with the territory. So little wonder the super-rich are investing.

Earlier this year a penthouse in London became the most expensive property per square footage ever to be sold in the UK.  With views of Buckingham Palace and Green Park, the 5,000 sq ft apartment in Mayfair sold for £25 million. Yes, the sky really is the limit in the penthouse market.

Super swish: The penthouse in London's Heron tower, worth £18million

Super swish: The penthouse in London's Heron tower, worth £18million

Cameron Ewer, of Strutt & Parker Cambridge, says our love of penthouses ‘stems from the New York versions we see in movies and on TV’.

Penny Mosgrove, of the international search and acquisition agency Quintessentially Estates, has noted an upward trend in this sector of the market. ‘Buyers have been trading in traditional townhouses in prime Central London for large lateral living space, which is often found atop the city’s most luxurious developments,’ she says.

Celebrities are snapping them up across the globe. Taylor Swift has just purchased a swish one in New York, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has invested in a penthouse in Tel Aviv, while One Direction’s Liam Payne resides in one in London.

Nicola Wallace works in Manchester for the Scarborough Group, launching the Hatbox development. ‘Penthouses attract “empty-nesters” and high net‑worth customers as well as companies purchasing to accommodate their senior management teams,’ she says.

Some of London’s most exclusive offerings are in the new Heron Tower (theheron.co.uk), in the heart of the City, with inspiring views of St Paul’s Cathedral and down the Thames to the London Eye. 

With prices in excess of £10 million, the properties come with plenty of luxurious features. 

Penthouses on the upper floors boast a Bond-style indoor-outdoor room with retractable roof — good for unpredictable British weather. Polished marble floors, Boffi kitchens with top-of-the-range Gaggeneau appliances are de rigueur.

Sea views: This Sussex penthouse on the beach is on sale through Knight Frank for £895,000

Sea views: This Sussex penthouse on the beach is on sale through Knight Frank for £895,000

Owners of properties in the Heron have access to the private residents’ club with a bar, gym and screening room. And there’s a concierge service on hand to take care of chores, from booking theatre tickets to picking up your dry-cleaning.

At the other end of the UK, the developer Dandara has recently completed Oakhill Grange, which occupies a prime plot in Aberdeen’s West End. The apartments provide up to 2,172 sq ft of smart accommodation in the middle of the ‘Oil Capital of Europe’.

‘They offer spacious, open-plan living and entertaining areas with large balconies from which to enjoy the spectacular views over the famous city skyline,’ says Gillian Roberts, of Dandara.

In the North-West, the Unity Buildings, in Liverpool, won the Royal Institute of British Architects’ annual tall buildings awards in 2007. They offer views of the waterfront and city and benefit from 24-hour concierge service, a residents’ gym and private terraces.

The Hatbox penthouse in Manchester has large private balconies or terraces, high-spec interiors and dressing rooms. All are on the top floor with panoramic city views.

It’s not just ultra-modern buildings that are embracing lateral living. In York the Bonding Warehouse — a Victorian former customs warehouse — has been transformed into a top‑notch apartment building with penthouses.

Toby Cockroft, at Croft Residential, selling the apartments, says: ‘The penthouses occupy the top two floors of the 19th-century listed building offering views of the city, the River Ouse and the gothic Skeldergate Bridge.’

State-of-the-art technology — including zoned Sonos music systems in every room, underfloor heating throughout and Miele appliances (wine coolers, steam ovens and built-in coffee makers) — are all part of the package.

In Birmingham, Concord House, a former furniture warehouse, now contains 15 loft-style apartments and four penthouses. The most expensive is ‘at over 4,000 sq ft, arguably the largest apartment ever been bought to market in Birmingham city centre’, says Stuart Eustace, of Knight Frank Birmingham.

Despite the fact that Birmingham is not a city recognised for its skyline or imposing tall towers, ‘you can still get great views from being at the top of Birmingham’s landmark buildings,’ promises Eustace.

There’s little doubt that apartment living is here to stay. For those with sky-high budgets, penthouses are simply the icing on the cake. 

 

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