International buyer snaps up £15m London penthouse to beat Labour's tax grab

Purchaser wanted to avoid potential 1% rise in stamp duty surcharge that the opposition intends to introduce when it comes to power

The exterior facade of Oceanic House. Photo: Beauchamp Estates

The £15 million sale of a London property that was once the headquarters of the shipping line that built the Titanic was rushed through to avoid a potential rise in stamp duty after the general election, the agent has told The National.

The duplex penthouse and two-bedroom apartment at the Grade II listed Oceanic House on Cockspur Street in Westminster were bought by an EU citizen from western Europe who works in the City, who saved £150,000 in tax by completing the sale in only two days.

It was in that very same apartment – then used as administrative offices and a studio for technical draftsmen – where the ill-fated Titanic was designed in the 1900s.

The ship was declared “unsinkable” by Bruce Ismay, the former managing director of the White Star Line, at a press conference in the boardroom in the building on April 2, 1912, a few days before she set sail from Southampton.

But Oceanic House was to play one final role, featuring in one of the most famous images of the aftermath of the disaster, which was taken outside the building on April 16, featuring a newsboy clutching an Evening News poster about the great loss of life.

Paul Finch, head of new homes sales at Beauchamp Estates, said the majority of the apartments in the building were sold early off plan and once the building was newly completed, with only the penthouse and a two-bedroom apartment remaining.

“We were approached recently by a European buyer who loved the building and its location, which provided easy access to the City of London where he works and does business,” he said.

The agent then “fast-tracked the sale” as the buyer wanted to close the purchase before the UK general election on July 4.

The Labour Party, which maintains a 20-point polling lead, has said it will raise stamp duty by 1 per cent for overseas purchasers of UK property if they win the election.

The policy will bring the surcharge to 3 per cent. In the case of the Cockspur Street property, that would have meant a bill of £450,000, instead of £300,000.

The agent said the sale was completed in record time of 48 hours – compared with at least a week normally.

The penthouse, which covers the fifth and sixth floors of Oceanic House, provides 5,500 square feet of living space, featuring a galleried entrance hallway, illuminated by a skylight above.

There are several reception rooms, four spacious bedrooms, five bathrooms and two roof terraces.

It was previously a studio for draftsmen who worked for the White Star Line, where technicians would make or amend detailed technical drawings and plans of the various White Star Line ships and their interiors.

The two-bedroom apartment, which is located on the second floor of Oceanic House, and provides 1,600 square feet of living space, was formerly the office of one of the directors of the White Star Line.

The renovation reinstated the original pediment on the top section of the building, which had been removed in the 1960s, returning it to its original appearance.

The building was built between 1903 and 1906 to be the London headquarters of the White Star Line.

Constructed using Portland stone in a grand Neo-classical style, the ground floor served as the booking office for wealthy first-class and other passengers while the first-floor rooms were for the White Star Line board of directors.

Ismay, who escaped in a lifeboat, returned to Oceanic House to be called “the coward of the Titanic” and “Brute Ismay” by the media.

He resigned as chairman of the White Star Line on June 13, 1913.

The building remained the White Star Line headquarters until in 1929 and later became the London regional office of Barclays Bank before it was transformed into the offices of the Ministry of Defence.

In its final incarnation, before the redevelopment, it served as the Texas Embassy, a restaurant and promotional centre for the state of Texas.