Country's most opulent house is finally sold... for half the asking price: Updown Court fetches just £35m after six years on the market

A luxurious mansion which has been on the market for six years has finally been sold for £35million.



Updown Court, in Surrey, was once expected to fetch £75million, but its price was repeatedly knocked down as it failed to find a buyer.



Earlier this year the house was taken over by the Irish government when owner Leslie Allen-Vercoe defaulted on the debt he had taken on to finance the property.



Sold: The extravagant Updown Court in Surrey has been bought for £35million

Loss: Leslie Allen-Vercoe spent £30million on renovating the house after buying it for £20million

Mr Allen-Vercoe bought the 58-acre site for £20million in 2002, and promptly spent another £30million developing it. Maintenance on the house is thought to cost £1million a year.



He was hoping to make a handsome profit, but when the house attracted no interest even after its price was slashed he defaulted on his loan from an Irish bank.



As the bank had since passed into the hands of Ireland's National Asset Management Agency, Updown Court ended up being repossessed by the state.



And the new sellers have now offloaded the house to a foreign businessman, according to the Sunday Times.



The agents involved with the sale declined to identify the buyer or to comment on the deal.

Updown Court contains a bowling alley, cinema and five swimming pools, as well as a helipad.



Mr Allen-Vercoe, a former estate agent, once said, 'If Elton John were a house, he'd be Updown Court.'



Pricey: The marble used in the house is said to have cost £9million

Exercise: The house includes five swimming pools, one of which is attached to the master bedroom

But the property's extravagant excesses seem to have put off potential buyers, with no one willing to pay the asking price until now.



The notoriety of the unsold house became so great that one observer told the Sunday Times it was 'one of the most undesirable properties that has ever been on sale'.



One reason why the house has been so hard to sell is its proximity to the M3 motorway, which provides a constant background humming noise.