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From The Times

March 30, 2007

Home on the web - luxury online

Lucia Adams

The most expensive flat in Central London — all £100 million, 20,000 sq ft of it — has just been snapped up at One Hyde Park by Sheikh Hamad, foreign minister of the Gulf State of Qatar. This is yet another indication that the world’s wealth is flowing steadily into the capital. The result is that £5 million-plus properties have spiralled in value by an astonishing 50 per cent in the past year, according to the upmarket estate agent Savills. The concentration of multimillion-, billion- and trillionaires per square foot in London must be among the highest in the world. So it is no wonder that a coterie of luxury goods and services is springing up to serve them online.

One such website, www.20ltd.com , launches on Monday at noon and promises that it will never sell more than 20 limited-edition designer products at any one time. Take, for example, the objet pictured left: a £20,000 four-piece coffee and tea set by Zaha Hadid for Alessi. One of only 99. Or, there’s the slightly more run-of-the-mill (in that it looks like a chair rather than a space ship) aluminium shell chair by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby. One of just 12 costing £8,225 each. Oligarchs might fancy the “Devil Damask” wallpaper by Timorous Beasties — £666 for three rolls. There are only 100 available, so not for those who want to cover every wall of a sprawling mansion.

The really rich probably don’t have time to surf the internet for new ways to spend. Fortunately there are a number of blogs that staff can follow on their behalf. Need ideas on how to keep up with the Kennedys and the Rothschilds? http://realestalker.blogspot.com reveals the movements of the moneyed. Then move on to www.bornrich.org and www.luxist.com for even more new and innovative ways to lighten your bank account.

If you are a have-not rather than a have-yacht, why not console yourself with a spot of voyeurism. Have a long look at photographs of Britain’s most expensive streets by clicking here.