A HUGE mansion overlooking Regent's Park in central London is being listed at £185m, which would make it the UK's second most expensive home purchase.

Zenprop, the current owners of 1-18 York Terrace East, want to sell the Grade-I listed terrace to a foreign billionaire, rather than another developer.

The building was completed in 1826 under designs by John Nash, the architect whose other works include Buckingham Palace, Regent Street and the Royal Pavilion in Brighton.

Zenprop purchased the property in 2016 but have decided to cash out without turning a profit.

The developers have planning permission for 26 flats and two houses.

If they sold the property for £185m, it would be second only to a mansion sold to the Chinese property tycoon Cheung Chung-kiu in January in terms of amount paid.

That 45-bed property, overlooking Hyde Park, was sold for £200m.

The York Terrace East property, with 117,000 square feet of floorspace, previously served as government offices and then student accommodation, after bomb damage during World War Two.

Derrick Beare, chief executive of Zenprop, said a buyer would have to spend an extra £80-90m to refurbish about 90 per cent of the interior.

He said the property was "priced attractively for what it is" and described it as "one of the most amazing buildings I've ever seen".

He admitted selling now "is not for me to make a return, it's pretty much to get my money back and move on".

He told the Financial Times: "The current price is a result of Brexit and the pandemic.

"It should be more, but I don't think I can get more in this market. It won't appeal to many people but we only need one person.

"The kind of person with billions, who wants a place in London."

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