From glass skyscrapers to pretty Georgian facades, London offers the discerning house hunter an incredible array of home styles to choose from. In this special edition of Gideon’s Agency Roadshow, the London native met up with The Agency’s partners at Savills and set out to discover two of the capital’s most alluring listings.
There was, of course, only one car for the job—a quintessentially British automobile that remains as captivating today as when it was first revealed to the world in 1961: the E-
Type Jaguar. Enzo Ferrari called it “the most beautiful car ever made.” Climbing into a 1966 4.2litre, GT-spec, Eagle E-Type, Gideon got to grips with the £450,000 classic. Eagle was formed in 1984 by Henry Pearman, who set out to redevelop original E-Type Jaguars by improving their reliability, handling and performance. Eagle E-Type prices start at approximately £200,000, with a full restoration and upgrade requiring over 4,000 hours of work per vehicle.
Comfortably strapped into the red leather seats, a gentle press of the starter button, and the Eagle E-Type sprung to life. London’s traffic offered no opportunity to experience the 150mph maximum speed, nor the 6.8 second 0-60mph, before Gideon arrived at the first port-of-call, number 71 Ladbroke Terrace, a Victorian, end-of-terrace property in London’s Notting Hill neighborhood, proudly represented by Oliver Lurot, head of Savills Notting Hills office.
“The residential landscape in Notting Hill is renowned for its traditional architecture; period townhouses, grand garden squares and colorful terraces, but in recent years a new wave of design has re-defined the fabric of 
Notting Hill’s housing stock,” Oliver explains as he greets Gideon at the elegant entry. “While the smart façades remain, behind their front door, W11 homeowners and locally based developers have created some incredible examples of clever and highly innovative design. Experimenting with bold colors and textures in principal rooms, dramatic fixtures and fittings, hidden spaces and a room unlike anything else out there – a sun terrace or miniature plunge pool, for example, are what makes these homes original.”
This £10,950,000, 4,842-square-foot Notting Hill delight has been subject to an extensive, back-to-brick renovation. The property boasts five bedrooms, including a leather and
suede-clad master bedroom and dressing room, with a Salvatori stone bathroom, four bath/shower rooms (three ensuite), and a self-contained staff bedroom with kitchenette. Covering five floors, plus the basement, the home also sports a Bulthaup kitchen, formal dining room, opulent drawing room with library, bespoke orangery with Swiss sliding glass doors and a patio garden. With underfloor heating and climate control throughout, the property also boasts a 4k screening room, gym, basalt-lined spa, and a steam shower and plunge pool.
Following a chat about other real estate projects that Savills and The Agency are working on, Oliver had another property in the neighborhood to show, and so Gideon fired up the waiting Eagle E-Type, and took a leisurely cruise toward Savills £14,950,000 listing on Lonsdale Road. Here the visitor is greeted by a grand entrance hall and art deco chandelier that runs the height of the building. An elegant staircase sweeps to the top floor, whilst an elevator connects all six levels. Head to the rear of the ground floor and one discovers the spacious
kitchen and dining area. Beyond the glass doors lies an open patio garden with a living-green wall. On the first floor is a double reception room and terrace overlooking the lower patio. The upper two floors house the principal suite, with a walk-in dressing room and ensuite bath. Two further bedrooms feature ensuite bathrooms/shower rooms. On the lower ground floor are two additional bedrooms and shower rooms (one ensuite), and the sumptuous media room. The basement boasts a wellness area with a gym, sauna, shower room, cloakroom and swimming pool.
“Increasingly we are finding that our super prime buyers want to be in the neighborhood for the lifestyle and love the look of period property but also want a home influenced by cutting-edge interior design and with the very latest technology,” Oliver adds. “Moreover they’re looking for something bespoke, a home that’s unlike anything out there. Those behind these fascinating projects could easily be regarded as the pioneers who are crafting homes to reflect how top end buyers want to live.”
At that, this London edition of Gideon’s Agency Roadshow drew to a close. Returning to the waiting Jaguar, the two agents agreed that both properties would make the perfect home for an Eagle E-Type and will undoubtedly prove the perfect home for one of the partnership’s discerning buyers.
Acknowledgements:
Eagle E-Type: Henry Pearman, Paul Brace, Simon Welch
Savills UK: Niki Riley, Claire Basing Lawson, Jelena Cvjetkovic, Alice Storrie, Nick Poppe, Oliver Lurot
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