Raheem Sterling has paid £2.3million for a plot of land owned by King Charles – and is building a sprawling £7million luxury mansion on it, MailOnline can reveal.
The England star snapped up the coveted 3.5-acre plot owned by the Crown Estate in Ascot, Berkshire, a short distance from his club Chelsea’s Cobham training base.
As the land is owned by the Crown Estate, which holds and manages the monarch’s ‘hereditary estate’, Charles will effectively be Sterling’s landlord, who will have to pay the millionaire footballer an annual rent.
Construction of the star’s new five-bedroom home is now underway after he demolished an existing house and outbuildings on the site.
Aerial images reveal a spectacular pool or water feature taking shape on a terrace at the back of the palatial house that leads out into the planned garden, although it is currently more like an earthen bath.
Stirling’s spectacular new home, expected to be worth around £7m when completed, will be surrounded by woodland and feature a huge basement with an underground swimming pool and a two-lane bowling alley.
Raheem Sterling has paid £2.3m for a plot of land owned by King Charles – and is building a sprawling £7m luxury mansion on it
The England star and his girlfriend Paige Milian have snapped up 3.5 acres of land owned by the Crown Estate in Ascot, a short distance from Chelsea’s Cobham training base.
The plans, approved by the local council in January, scaled back the size of the building slightly, giving it five bedrooms instead of six.
The England footballer acquired the leasehold of the land in May 2021, land registry records show. It was on the market for £2.495m, but Sterling apparently managed to negotiate a £195,000 discount before completing.
The leasehold arrangement meant that Stirling had to pay an annual ground rent to the Crown Estate which maintained the freehold of the land. The lease has 141 years left to run. When it expires in 2164, the then owner of the palace must negotiate a new contract.
The amount Sterling will have to pay for the land has not been disclosed, but a property expert told MailOnline it could be several hundred pounds a year.
The expert said: ‘Some people may find it unusual for someone as wealthy as Stirling to buy a property on a leasehold where they do not actually own the freehold of the land.
It is more common to own a flat on leasehold, but there is nothing to stop a lease from being applied to any type of property. There are large areas of London where most homes are leasehold.
Raheem Sterling celebrates after scoring the third goal of the game during a FIFA World Cup Group B match at Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, November 2022
‘Stirling will still have substantial rights as lessee. It is true that he will never fully own the land.
He obviously won’t be around when the lease expires in 141 years, but the law says whoever owns it at that point will be able to extend it. They will be able to pay to buy a new lease.
‘How much that will be is debatable. His existing lease may have clauses on how much it will cost to renew taking into account inflation.’
The leasehold is believed to have been sold to Stirling by an intermediary, a property development company, which itself bought it for £1.85 million in 2015 – but then resold it without developing it.
Planning consent to demolish the house standing on the plot, and replace it with a new build, was granted later in 2015.
Plans for the new house were revised in 2017 to include a basement area with a squash court, gym, swimming pool and a basement car park with room for ten cars.
Council bosses approved a set of plans in July last year, but after revisions Stirling submitted completely new plans for the interior in December.
New plans approved by the local council in January have slightly reduced the size of the building, offering five bedrooms instead of six.
They give the house a central curved staircase around a lift with an open plan kitchen and dining room as well as a family area on the ground floor which also includes a drawing room and a study.
Under Stirling’s new design, the first floor features a small terrace and four en suite bedrooms, one of which has a sitting area and all have dressing areas.
As the land is owned by the Crown Estate, which holds and manages the monarch’s ‘hereditary estate’, Charles will effectively be Sterling’s landlord, who will have to pay the millionaire footballer an annual rent.
The England footballer acquired the leasehold of the land in May 2021, land registry records show. It was on the market for £2.495m, but Sterling apparently managed to negotiate a £195,000 discount before completing it.
Aerial images reveal a spectacular pool or water feature taking shape on a terrace at the back of the palatial house that leads out into the planned garden, although it is currently more like an earthen bath.
On the second floor there is a grand master bedroom, with a large en suite bathroom and a dressing room. There is also a lounge on the second floor with windows opening to a balcony.
The basement has a crescent-shaped swimming pool overlooked by a bar area and a small sauna and steam room.
The area which featured a gym and entertainment zone features open plan seating and a central bar with an ‘aquarium’ flanked by a bowling alley with two lanes.
There is a cinema and a ‘hydraulic car lift display’ which appears to be designed to give visitors a chance to see one of his prize motors.
House plans still include a detached garage building with accommodation above, potentially suitable for a member of staff.
Pictures show teams of builders still working on the new property with several construction vehicles including a large crane, an excavator and two dumper trucks on site along with seven portable buildings.
Steps are seen leading to a sunken garden area that could be large enough for a small football pitch.
But for now the grounds of the house are like a waterlogged wasteland, as no landscaping has been done yet.
Sterling, who has played for England’s senior squad since 2012, currently lives in a £6 million gated mansion in Leatherhead, Surrey with fiancee Paige Milian, 27, and their two sons. He also has a daughter from a previous relationship.
His home in Surrey was burgled during the World Cup in Qatar last year, prompting him to return home to comfort his family before rejoining the England squad.
The footballer and his partner Paige are no strangers to property investment and jointly own their own development company called Milian Property Group Limited.
Sterling, who has played for England’s senior squad since 2012, currently lives in a £6 million gated mansion in Leatherhead, Surrey with fiancee Paige Milian, 27, and their two sons. He also has a daughter from a previous relationship
The footballer and his partner Paige are no strangers to property investment and jointly own their own development company called Milian Property Group Limited. It was revealed in 2019 that Sterling and Page had bought the entire complex of a former sign factory in Reddish, on Williamson Street. A ‘fashionable’ suburb of Stockport (Image: Page posing outside the complex)
Companies House records show the company had more than £2m of fixed assets in 2021, although as of March last year its accounts were more than three months in arrears meaning it has been served with a mandatory strike closure notice.
Page revealed on Instagram in 2019 how he and Sterling had added six new properties in a run-down area of Stockport, Greater Manchester, as part of their portfolio.
As his new build property is part of the Crown Estate, the freehold is considered to belong to King Charles for the duration of his reign after King Charles inherited it from his mother, the Queen, after his death.
But because it is owned by the Crown Estate, the king cannot sell it and any revenue from the land goes directly to the treasury in exchange for the sovereign grant that maintains the royal family.
The Crown Estate currently owns £15.6 billion worth of property, including 241 properties in central London. It owns extensive land in the Ascot and Windsor areas, including the freehold of Ascot Racecourse.
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