Definitely Maybe: Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher is rumoured to have been house-hunting in St John’s Wood, following the success of the band’s reunion tour this year.
This year, Oasis’ tour has taken the Gallagher brothers across the UK, as well as the US, Canada, Asia, Australia and South America, where they are currently performing.
Before it began, Birmingham City University estimated that the first 14 tour dates alone would earn the brothers some £50 million each; in April, it was revealed that a merchandising deal would bring in an extra £20 million.
In short, it looks like the brothers have some pocket change – and Liam, apparently, has looked to invest his in some prime London property.
A source close to Homes & Property has disclosed that Liam Gallagher has been searching in St John’s Wood, and may recently have purchased a property at one of the area’s most prestigious addresses.
The seven-bedroom house that Gallagher is thought to have bought covers more than 8,000 square feet, with a garden, cinema room, gym, secure off-street parking and separate coach house.
Although the asking price was over £11 million, it had received a hefty 22 per cent price cut in recent months, meaning that Gallagher may have got himself a good deal.
In fact, both Gallagher brothers have lived in St John’s Wood before. Liam is believed to have rented in the area during the nineties, as Oasis rose to fame.
Noel lived in the area at around the same time, and also took a shining to it: he bought a townhouse on Steele’s Road in nearby Belsize Park for £2 million in 1997, nicknamed Supernova Heights, and later purchased homes in Little Venice and Maida Vale.
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In returning to St John’s Wood, Gallagher joins a list of A-listers who call the area home.
Sir Paul McCartney has lived on Cavendish Avenue, one of the area’s most in-demand streets, since the 1960s, while the likes of Robert Pattinson and Rihanna have rented houses in the area in recent years.
This month, it emerged that 81-year-old Star Wars creator George Lucas had also bought himself a £40m mansion in St John’s Wood.
“St Johns Wood has long been a magnet for celebrities because it offers what they value most — large private plots with off street parking, often behind gates, so they can drive in and have complete privacy and security.
“It’s possible to get a gated residence for £10 million upwards in St John’s Wood compared with starting prices of £20 to £25 million in other prime locations like Notting Hill,” says Jo Eccles, founder and managing director of buying agency Eccord.
“We’ve worked with many high-profile names from the music and media worlds who want complete discretion and they’re in good company in St John’s Wood. Local residents are used to seeing Paul McCartney walking around so they’re completely unfazed when someone new moves in.”
For Marc Schneiderman, director of Arlington Residential, it’s the area’s central location, generous gardens, architecture and proximity to good schools — including the £40,000-a-year American School in London — which continue to attract famous buyers.
“The convenience of the location is a big one: you are literally a few minutes away from the West End if there’s no traffic,” says Schneiderman. “You get great gardens. It’s about as close to the West End as you can possibly go where you’re going to find a really good garden…It’s a package of schooling, gardens, a little bit of anonymity in certain streets, and safety and security.”
Schneiderman, who is currently working with musicians and high-profile people in media and arts who are looking for property in St John’s Wood, says that buyers like Gallagher tend to favour houses with separate spaces for studios.
“The searches we’ve got on are for period houses with character and original features, on quiet roads and with a separate studio arrangement or accommodation,” he says. “They’re not plentiful, but it is possible to find a lovely original period house with an artist studio attached to the side of it, or in the garden.”
Certain roads, Schneiderman adds, offer a greater sense of anonymity. “The mix of properties that you have is appealing. Not everybody wants to be in a road of similar big mansion-type houses…
“There are certain roads that you drive down where you wouldn’t really be sure if they’re flats or houses; you wouldn’t pay them much attention. But there are some magnificent homes behind some of those façades that you wouldn’t really know were there.”
Streets like Elm Tree Road, Woronzow Road and Hamilton Terrace particularly fit this bill, says Schneiderman, with prices ranging from around £1 million for an apartment up to around £30 million for a house.
Liam Gallagher currently lives with his fiancée and manager Debbie Gwyther in a mock-Tudor mansion near Highgate which they bought for almost £4 million.
Last year, the couple gained planning permission to raise the entrance gates and walls around the property for extra privacy, and to build a new, heated swimming pool in the garden.
They also own a £4 million Cannes villa which they bought from Noel Edmonds and were understood to have been looking for property in the Cotswolds earlier this year. For now, though, Gallagher appears to have settled on St John’s Wood.
“What would be surprising about somebody who’s moved on several occasions and has lived in St John’s Wood in the past, buying — or wishing to buy— a lovely home in the area?” says Schneiderman. “The question is really: why wouldn’t you?”
Liam Gallagher’s representatives have been contacted for comment.
