Celebrity moves March 2017

It’s looking like a month for all manner of comebacks in London. Tony Blair and Roy Hodgson once occupied two of the most pressurised jobs in Britain, and now they are re-emerging into the public gaze. Both jobs were impossible, but only Hodgson knew it – he had apparently written his resignation letter while leading his defeated squad off the pitch. The swaggering unapologetic return of Bugatti is the polar opposite. “The 253mph Veyron a bit sluggish for you sir? Never mind, here’s the 261mph Chiron”. Of course we wouldn’t know if Ellie Goulding is making a comeback or not as in her profession, a 48 hour Instagram hiatus is seen as pensionable retirement.

Pop life

From her genre hopping albums, to her gruelling fitness regime, Ellie Goulding has always treated her pop career as one long self-improvement project. Her trajectory may include the usual celebrity drama but when it comes to urban living, her instincts remain as sharp as her stilettos. A central London home might be fine for shopping forays and hanging out with the pop glitterati, but those steely abs need a proper gym environment in which to flourish. So the “Love Me Like You Do” singer has decamped to a £6 million pound rented mansion in South London in order to stay on top of her game. The six bedrooms and comprehensive gym should more than suit her needs and that of boyfriend, Bobby Rich who just happens to be a judo champ as well as personal trainer to David Beckham. Ellie could, however, get the best of both worlds by renting this apartment in the Vista, Chelsea Bridge property development. With Southbank based views of Chelsea, residents here have use of a private gym right next to Battersea Park – home of numerous boot camp courses, guaranteed to test the famous Goulding work ethic to the limit.

Sweet FA

Never having excelled as a player, Roy Hodgson’s name will nevertheless be carved in football history as the man who managed England to defeat at the hands of those titans of international soccer – Iceland. Presiding over national trauma aside, Roy is a well-travelled practitioner of the coaching arts, having worked in such disparate places as Switzerland, Italy and Dubai, so he’s not short of a bob or two. As he gets back into the beautiful game, Hodgson will probably keep hold of his £2.5 million apartment in Chelsea Harbour, just in case one of the big London clubs come calling. Even if he sells up, he could still theoretically get one of them relegated from the comfort of this nearby luxury rental apartment at Fulham Riverside. There’s plenty of stress-busting gym facilities on site and the concierge should be able to deter nosy tabloid journos.

TB or not TB

Ex-Prime Minister, Tony Blair always advocated close links with the European Union, but as he steps into the Brexit debate he’ll have to do more than give controversial speeches to selected audiences. There are some firmly entrenched positions on the EU, both inside and outside of Westminster and they’ll probably harden even more when they find the architect of New Labour in their sights. As a born-again Remain activist, he’ll need all his old media management skills as he will most likely have quote hungry press and TV crews camping out on his Bayswater doorstep. Not all of his neighbours are thrilled at the prospect and one couple have decided to bid farewell to Connaught Square, selling their 3,500 sq ft home for £7.5 million. A less drastic option would have been to rent this smart three bedroom townhouse in nearby Stanhope Terrace while waiting for the media storm to blow over. Set over four floors, there’s enough room for Tony and Cheri should they need to escape the pitchforks of angry Brexiteers.

Wheels of fortune

Attention Premiership footballers! Show your fans how much playing for their club really means to you by dropping a couple of months wages on the latest super car to hit London. Faster than Bolt, buffer than Beyoncé and more desirable than both, the new Bugatti Chiron has been unveiled in the Capital to the usual chorus of cheers from petrol heads and jeers from environmentalists. Boasting a top speed of 261mph and a price tag of £2 million, this 8-litre design marvel is on display at the Bugatti showroom in Mayfair. The fact that the manufacturers have a waiting list of oligarchs, fund managers and gulf royalty ready to purchase the car is a given, but there is also an appointment queue to sit in the thing. That’s right, people are booking ahead so that they can just sit in the Chiron before booking another date for a test drive – now that’s exclusive. The best place to catch sight of one of these mechanical superstars will be around Mayfair, Knightsbridge and Chelsea (natch). Renting this Fulham Road apartment will give you a good vantage point as the ultimate status symbol roars past on its way to the Stamford Bridge car park.

Going underground

“Sticking It to the Man” isn’t just the exclusive dream of every downtrodden wage slave because high net worth individuals like to buck the system as well. When it comes to planning permission, the super-rich have until recently been as restricted as the rest of us: that is until the arrival of the “Iceberg Home”. Whole multi-storey complexes have been created underground, bypassing planning laws and adding millions to the value of these centrally located residences. But these projects can play havoc with the neighbourhood and have become the latest cause of disquiet amongst the chattering classes of areas like Knightsbridge. The latest kerfuffle involves billionaire David Graham and high profile neighbours such as author Edna O’Brien, designer Bruce Oldfield and assorted SW1 gentry. It’s a running battle that will probably continue until the courts intervene, so anybody wishing to avoid the stand-off might consider renting this apartment in Beauchamp Place until the dust (real and metaphorical) settles. Nearby Fifth Floor at Harvey Nichols is ideal for holding strategy meetings and composing indignant letters to The Times.

If you’re looking for a new property to rent in London, we’ve got lots of property in areas where you could be rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous. Call us on 020 7435 9681 or to find out what’s available, search our listings here.