Even by the standards of super-rich oil sheikhs, the latest purchase by racing magnate Sheikh Muhammad al Maktoum is in a league of its own. The world’s biggest owner of racehorses and son of the ruler of Dubai is said to have shelled out a cool £70 million on Britain’s most expensive new home – Updown Court near Ascot racetrack in Surrey.
The sprawling neoclassical-style mansion, which is set in 90 acres of landscaped gardens, recently topped up with £60,000 worth of new plants, is a catalogue of superlatives. It includes 30 bedrooms built as self-contained apartments, 20 bathrooms, five swimming pools, a 28-seat cinema, a kitchen large enough for 10 chefs and a winding driveway made from the most expensive marble in the world which is heated from below to prevent ice forming in bad weather.
“It is a fantastic property which keeps growing and growing,” says John B Scholz, the architect in charge of the project.
Despite the fact that the property is a veritable entertainment centre in its own right – it has two bowling alleys, stables, floodlit tennis courts, a gym, an Astroturf football pitch, plus basketball and squash courts – the new owner apparently has no plans to actually live there. Instead, he intends to use it as a party venue.
Apparently, Bruce Willis and Demi Moore – in the days when they were the equivalent of Hollywood royalty – had briefly expressed an interest in the estate, which will cost around £1 million a year to run.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
