John Hitchcox's partners in his design and development business include Philippe Starck and Jade Jagger; his social set encompasses Elle Macpherson and Kate Moss. And, if these associations are not glamorous enough for you, the Ladder can reveal that Jimi Hendrix used to live in Hitchcox's home in Westbourne Grove, West London.

Indeed, the property may have inspired Hendrix's greatest hit, Purple Haze. All together now: “Purple haze all in my brain/Lately things just don't seem the same/Actin' funny, but I don't know why/'scuse me while I kiss the sky.” One story goes that in 1966, after a big night out, Hendrix returned home to Notting Hill, at that time a rundown neighbourhood. He saw the terraced house tinged in purple through, one imagines, a psychedelic haze.

The house is now on the market for a hefty £7.5 million, but then it has been done up a bit since Hendrix's day. Hitchcox, known for his hyperactive tendencies and highflying international work schedule, has installed a pool, gym, cinema, music studio, skylights and fireplaces. There are white walls and wood floors, and that Zen layout style that was so popular in the late Nineties dominates. But the spirit of the Sixties - and Hendrix himself - lingers on.

Hitchcox, who plays a bit of guitar himself, has done up the downstairs loo as a sort of Hendrix tribute, with swirling purple wallpaper and black-and-white shots of Jimi on the wall. Surely these will stay in commemoration of the history of the house, perhaps at a special price?

Notting Hill may now be populated more by trustafarians than Rastafarians but the hero worship of Hendrix runs rampant among middle-aged bankers who still play air guitar in the sitting rooms of W11 in tribute to the guitar icon. One of them will surely come forward as the buyer - or at least try to negotiate the price down.

The house is 4,530 sq ft and has a leafy private drive for parking and a small paved garden. It's a party house but also a family house, with a pretty stuccoed frontage and sweet little roof terrace. Perhaps one of Hitchcox's high-profile pals will take it off his hands.

Hitchcox co-founded the Manhattan Loft Corporation, a property success story of the 1990s that was influential in bringing New York-style warehouse living to London. He now co-owns and runs Yoo, a well-branded international property development company that sells its signature style all over the world.

knightfrank.co.uk

struttandparker.com

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