EXCLUSIVE – Garage on Kensington’s ‘millionaire’s row’ – which was bought for £350,000 two years ago – is transformed into £1.2million pint-sized eco-home
- The run-down garage on Lexham Gardens was bought by David Lonsdale and business partner Hadi Sarmadi
- The pair snapped it up in February 2019 and spent £550k turning it into a stylish, 70sq metre one-bed home
- Mr Lonsdale, a London barrister, told MailOnline he plans to live in the small house and sell it later next year
- The transformation includes a basement bedroom, ground floor open plan living room, bathroom and kitchen
- The property has solar panels on the roof, is ‘super insulated’ and is heated using a pump which extracts air from the environment, keeping it cool in the summer and warm in the winter
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A run-down garage in an upmarket part of London which was bought for £350,000 is now worth a whopping £1.2 million after being converted into one of the country’s most eco-friendly homes.
The timber-built lock up in Kensington, West London, was purchased at auction by David Lonsdale and his business partner Hadi Sarmadi in February 2019.
After demolishing it, they spent £550,000 creating a small but stylish home of just over 70 square metres that is made up of a basement bedroom and a ground floor open plan living room and kitchen. The work was completed last month.
This run down garage on the end of Lexham Gardens, Kensington, dubbed ‘millionaire’s row’, was bought for £350,000
The owners have transformed it from an undesirable garage into a smart one-bedroom home covering 70 square metres
Mr Lonsdale, a barrister revealed that he plans to live in the home and then sell it later this year, giving him and his business partner a healthy £300,000 profit, which they plan to invest in building other top-level eco-friendly homes.
The Kensington property has solar panels on the roof to produce the bulk of its own electricity, is ‘super insulated’ and is heated using a pump which extracts air from the environment, keeping it cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
Mr Lonsdale told MailOnline: ‘From a small, run down garage has come this beautiful, incredible property that has been built to a superior standard compared to other homes.
‘The home is all about using natural resources as energy and will be a wonderful place to live. It’s in one of London’s best areas and offers wonderful views of a lovely and genteel square.’
The former garage has been awarded Passive Home Status, the international standard for the world’s most energy efficient buildings.
Mr Lonsdale added: ‘The green agenda is very prominent at the moment and this is the first Passive Home in Kensington. There is a lot of interest in what we have done as this home is virtually off grid right in the heart of London.’
Mr Lonsdale estimates that the annual energy bill for his new home will be around £600 per year, almost half of what it would be for a house of similar size built to traditional building standards.
After purchasing it in February 2019, David Lonsdale and business partner Hadi Sarmadi demolished the garage and created this impressive home awarded Passive Home Status, the international standard for the world’s most energy efficient buildings
The business partners estimate that they will earn a profit of around £300,000 from their refurbishment including a new kitchen and lounge (pictured), which they plan to reinvest into more energy efficient property projects
Mr Lonsdale estimates that the annual energy bill for his new home – with impressive garden pictured – will be around £600 per year, almost half of what it would be for a house of similar size built to traditional building standards
Mr Lonsdale proudly showed off photos of his pet project (left and right) and told MailOnline: ‘From a small, run down garage has come this beautiful, incredible property that has been built to a superior standard compared to other homes.’
The work to transform the garage was carried out by the Magnificent Basement Company, which is owned by Mr Lonsdale and Sarmadi.
Despite the substantial profit they stand to make on their investment in a dishevelled garage, Mr Lonsdale insisted that it was not simply about the money.
He added: ‘Everything that our company wants to do in the future is not just about making a profit but building in a sustainable way.’