Bid war pushes price of perfect home to £16m (original) (raw)
A NORTHAMPTONSHIRE mansion has been sold for £5 million more than the asking price after a bidding war between six potential purchasers.
Eydon Hall had been on the market for £11 million but the Palladian mansion eventually sold for £16 million, despite the proximity of a railway line which has been earmarked as a potential freight route linking the North and Midlands to the Channel ports.
The buyer is believed to be Christopher Stamper, who dropped out of university to set up the computer games company Rare, which was bought by Microsoft two years ago for £240 million. Mr Stamper and his two brothers started their business from a terraced house in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, the county where their business is still based. Games such as Donkey Kong have put the family in the top 500 of the Sunday Times rich list.
Eydon Hall was built in 1788 by the architect James Lewis for the Rev Francis Annesley. It sits in 600 acres of rolling countryside without a pylon or ugly building in sight. The railway line may prove to be a sore point. A private company, Central Railway, is lobbying politicians to support the route as a means of taking lorries off the motorways. The line south of Rugby runs within a mile of Eydon Hall.
This year the company failed to persuade the Government to sponsor a Bill to back the project, but its chairman, Andrew Gritten, says that there is enough support to have another go. “We have every intention of capitalising on that support,” he said.
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Central Railway operates a property protection scheme, which guarantees the value of properties near the line, if the railway gets the go-ahead. The scheme comes into effect if construction begins.
Mr Gritten said that the company had set up agreements with hundreds of properties and would be willing to cover somewhere as expensive as Eydon Hall. “If it was thought the value of their property could be affected, we would indemnify them,” he said.
Eydon Hall was put up for sale after the death of its former owner, Gerald Leigh, in June 2002. A property developer, he was better known for his success in the horse racing world as an owner-breeder of thoroughbreds. Most of his racing stock was sold by Tattersalls last December, with Sheikh Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, reported in the racing press as the buyer.
The property came on to the market in May, attracting immediate interest. Marcus Binney, the Times architecture correspondent, wrote of it: “When I first saw Eydon Hall more than 30 years ago, I thought it the most desirable house I had ever seen. Visiting it again, it is still perfection.” The house has nine bedrooms, seven bathrooms and reception rooms with ceilings nearly 20ft high. The grounds include a walled garden, tennis court and orangery. One of its previous owners was the younger sister of Nancy, Viscountess Astor, who heard about it from her niece, Nancy. While out hunting in 1927 she came across Eydon Hall and, knowing her aunt was looking for a home, rode up to the front door and asked if it was for sale.
Mr Stamper was unavail-able to comment about the purchase. Knight Frank and Bidwells, the joint selling agents, would not discuss details of the deal.