£16m and still needs a reburb

The most expensive unconverted home in London has just been bought - for £16 million. It is expected that the Park Lane property will be worth £30 million when it has been refurbished.

The 30,000sq ft office building on the corner of Park Lane and Tilney Street was bought by a family from the Middle East who plan to turn the sevenstorey building, former headquarters of Alliance and Leicester, into one of the capital's largest and most expensive private residences. The planning application shows room for 25 bedrooms with views across Hyde Park.

Gary Hersham of Beauchamp Estate, the Mayfair agent behind the sale, believes the conversion of the property was necessary as, "large and prestigious family homes in London are becoming scarce".

The sale is one of several multimillion pound deals made recently by Beauchamp Estate. Other Mayfair sales include a 14,000sq ft unmodernised house in Hertford Street and a freehold property in South Audley Street.

Wealthy Middle Eastern buyers usually favour Mayfair, but it has a shortage of secure garaging. Often the buyers are wellknown people concerned about security risks. Hersham says: "They are paranoid about someone tampering with the cars." Cheaper homes are available in Park Lane, according to Harrods Estates. At number 55, close to The Dorchester, former serviced apartments are being turned into flats, priced from £475,000 to £4.2 million.