London’s MI6 penthouse in James Bond movie, converted flats showcased in Eddie Redmayne’s Oscar-winning film, are looking for wealthy buyers

Russian owner seeks buyer for Whitehall Court penthouse in London with a US$7.2 million price tag

The Sloane Building, a former school whose classrooms were featured in The Theory of Everything, is on the market for £18.5 million

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Properties featured in movies such as James Bond's “No Time to Die” and Eddie Redmayne's “The Theory of Everything” are up for sale in London. Photo: Handout

Published: 8:30am, 11 Aug 2020Updated: 7:32pm, 11 Aug 2020

A London penthouse that was formerly the headquarters of British spies and featured in the yet-to-be-released James Bond flick No Time to Die is up for sale. So is another penthouse that provided the backdrop for The Theory of Everything.

Blue Plaque Whitehall Court was part of the MI6 intelligence service until the end of the first world war. The living spaces in the eaves of the building still retain a unique network of reinforced beams and hardened flooring, installed by the Secret Services during the first world war.

Its Russian owner is seeking £5.5 million (US$7.2 million) for the 4,144-sq ft three-room penthouse on the top three floors of the former government property, with a monthly maintenance cost of £1,200, according to Beauchamp Estates, which is marketing the property.

“Who doesn’t love the excitement and glamour of the Secret Services, spies, gadgets and James Bond?” said Gary Hersham, founding director of Beauchamp. The unique penthouse, located in the eaves of the building, “helps to shine a spotlight on the thrilling history of the Secret Service and the 007-style agents,” he added.

The bombproof penthouse in Whitehall Court, where the former MI6 headquarters were located, is seeking a new owner. Photo: Handout

The London-based vendor has owned the property for more than 10 years, using the penthouse as his Whitehall pied-à-terre, according to Paul Finch, a director at Beauchamp. Potential Asian buyers, notably from Hong Kong, mainland China, Indonesia and Malaysia are showing interest in owning a piece of the history, he said.

The listings of the two penthouses come at a time when sales of super-prime properties, those above US$10 million, slumped in the first half amid the coronavirus pandemic. There were 281 such transactions in 12 key markets recorded in the January to June period, compared to 594 a year earlier, according to Knight Frank.