No.7: Franchuk Villa, Kensington, London - £84m
It is hard to work out exactly how much rich divorcee Elena Franchuk paid for the house - but it's between £69m and £80m depending on who you talk to. But what is for sure - Franchuk House is one of London's largest and most elegant Victorian villas
Elena Franchuk, daughter of a former Ukrainian president, wife of oligarch Viktor Pinchuk, and friend of Elton John, bought this five-story,10-bedroom Victorian villa on Upper Phillimore Gardens for a then record London price in 2008.
It had changed hands just two years earlier for substantially less and been exquisitely refurbished by developer Mike Spink. Featuring a movie theater, sauna, gym and, or course, panic room, the large Kensington mansion had been a girl’s preparatory school.
The installations of an underground swimming pool in Spink’s inimitable minimalist style, plus acres of marble and wood paneling, were just some of the luxe upgrades.
