Gucci Mansion: London headquarters for sale

There Gucci Mansion on Grafton Street in Mayfair in London, the spectacular 1,300 sq m private mansion that served as Gucci’s global headquarters where designer Tom Ford and CEO Domenico De Sole worked with figures such as Alexander McQueen, is arguably the finest residence in Mayfair. It is now for sale (or for rent, it depends) through the exclusive agent Beauchamp Estates.

The sumptuous Gucci Mansion it was originally built between 1769 and 1772. Former London residence of Chancellor Lord Brougham, where Queen Victoria and the Duke of Wellington were guests, the story of the Grafton Street building can be traced back to 1993, when the Bahrain-based investment fund Invescorp bought Gucci from Maurizio Gucci, ending the Gucci family’s involvement, which dates back to 1921 when Guccio Gucci founded the luxury brand.

In 1994, following the acquisition of Invescorp, Texan designer Tom Ford was appointed Creative Director of Gucci and Domenico De Sole (legal advisor to the Gucci family) was appointed CEO, with De Sole listing the company on the stock exchange. New York in October 1995.

In March 1995 Maurizio Gucci was shot dead in the lobby of Gucci’s Milan office and this led to the decision that Gucci would have to look for a new headquartersideally away from Milan, so that the brand could create a new corporate identity and leave the tragic past behind.

Hence, in 1998 the global headquarters of Gucci moves to Londonwith the new Gucci Mansion on Grafton Street (near the Gucci Bond Street store) becoming a base for Tom Ford and Domenico De Sole. The mansion had been refurbished for 2 years with sumptuous rooms decorated with custom Gucci furniture, including desks and wardrobes in chocolate veneer and sofas and chairs in black calfskin.

Tom Ford has moved into the main living room of the building on the first floor, with a 6 meter high gold leaf ceiling, floor to ceiling windows, parquet floors and Georgian fireplaces. It was here in 2000 that Tom Ford hosted designer Alexander McQueen and convinced him to join the Gucci group and this is where Ford hosted the legendary director of Vogue Anna Wintour.

The adjoining first-floor dining room, which has a carved wooden fireplace and built-in bookcases topped with busts of Alexander the Great, Caesar Augustus, and Marcus Aurelius, became Gucci’s main meeting room. This is where lunches and dinners with great guests were organized.

The top floor of the building has a luxurious office / suite with a mezzanine, a vaulted ceiling with exposed beams and an adjacent solarium / lounge for relaxation on sunny days. This space became the executive office of themanaging director Domenico De Sole.

On the ground floor there are two staterooms with floor-to-ceiling windows, original Georgian fireplaces and parquet flooring.

The second and third floors of the mansion housed the offices of Gucci’s CFO Bob Singer, employees employed in the PR and branding department and human resources offices, as well as Gucci’s legal and IT departments.

In 2003 the French billionaire François Pinault took control of Gucci and in April 2004 Tom Ford and Domenico De Sole left Gucci. In June 2010, the then CEO of Gucci, Robert Polet, decided to move Gucci’s global headquarters to Cadempino in Switzerland, thus ending Gucci’s role in the history of the villa.

The spectacular building was thus converted into a private home based on a project conceived by the winning architects of the RIBA award Donald Insall Associateswho oversaw the restoration of Windsor Castle.

The palace with eight bedrooms it is spread over 4 floors: basement, basement, ground floor and four upper floors and features classic interiors, passenger lift, gym, cinema and wellness center with swimming pool, plunge pool, sauna and turkish bath and a garage. The accommodation includes a large hall, four large reception halls, a kitchen, a study / home office, four suites, four additional bedrooms for staff, staff facilities and two floors of recreational facilities. There is access to a large terraced garden, balconies on the first floor and a veranda / solarium on the top floor.

Grafton Street mansion can be purchased for 55 million pounds or rented for $ 40,000 a week.