£80 million. Londons Most Expensive Home

A record price for a London home has been set with the £80m sale of a large detached house in Kensington.It beats the previous high of £67m for steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal's home in Kensington Palace Gardens and is claimed to be the world's most expensive single residential dwelling.

The five-storey house in Upper Phillimore Gardens is thought to have been bought by Ukrainian businesswoman and philanthropist Elena Franchuk, a friend of Sir Elton John.
Builders have for the last 18 months been installing an underground swimming pool, gym, sauna and cinema.Due to be completed in April, the house has at least 10 bedrooms and a secure 'panic room'.

The property, 17 Upper Phillimore Gardens, was bought for £20m in June 2006 by a company called Coll Hill Spink 2, controlled by developer Mike Spink, who specialises in top end properties.

However, the record may again be broken in for a matter of weeks as a six storey house in Belgrave Square is due to come on the market in the spring for about £90m.

The new owner Ms Franchuk is the daughter of a former Ukrainian president and married to oligarch industrialist Viktor Pinchuk, has long been involved in charitable activities in her home country.In 2003, she established the first and sole foundation in Ukraine committed to fighting HIV and Aids, aimed at drawing attention of opinion makers, government and business leaders to the problem.