The Billionaire’s Hampstead Home Comes With Its Very Own Secret Batcave

Oftentimes, it seems that the billionaires we see on screen have much more fun with their wealth than the billionaires of the real world. If you have that much money at your disposal why not try and bring dinosaurs back from the dead or turn yourself into a superhero? While he may not have gone full Batman, at least one billionaire seems to be on the right track – having transformed the basement of his Hampstead home into a batcave inspired by his favourite film The Dark Knight (2008). Take a look inside this Batman home. 

This Billionaire’s London Mega-Mansion Is For Sale

Who Is Sergey Frolovichev?

The billionaire in question? Anglo-Russian tech entrepreneur Sergey Frolovichev. The billionaire is best-known for driving the expansion of dating and networking apps Bumble and Bamboo alongside his business associate Andrey Andreev. The pair then sold the holding company to fellow billionaire Stephen Scharzman’s investment giant Blackstone Inc. for around $3 billion in 2019.

As a leader in the digital technology space, Frolovichev took on much of the home’s remodelling himself, working in collaboration with award-winning architectural practice SHH. Now on the market for £29.95m, the property is being offered on a ‘shell and core’ basis. Though buyers will gain access to the period facade, ground-floor extension and high-tech infrastructure (including ground source heating, underfloor gearing, MVHR units, and audio-visual cabling), the interior design will be left to their own discretion. The internal fit-out is estimated to take 12 to 18 months at an additional cost of £5m to £7m, with potential for the mansion’s value to increase to £40m. 

What’s Inside?

The home itself was originally built in 1934 by English architect Charles Henry Brne Quennell. Done-up in a neo-Georgian style, the facade offers up a double-fronted brick façade with central stone entrance portico, tall sash windows, brick quoins, dormer windows and Arts and Crafts details. Spanning 14,501 sqft, the three-storey, seven-bedroom Ambassadorial house is located in Greenaway Gardens, Hampstead.

Entered through a triple-height entrance hall, the property opens up to a central atrium with a cantilevered staircase, galleried landing and a rooflight. From here, the home leads through to its six reception rooms, study, library, games room (with cocktail bar) media room, passenger lift, staff quarters and health spa – complete with a gym, steam room, sauna and swimming pool. Up above, the principal suite spans the entire width of the mansion, enjoying access to two private roof terraces, two walk-in dressing rooms and two ensuite bathrooms. There are two further bedroom suites on the first floor, plus three further bedroom suites and a club lounge on the top floor – all ensuite, of course.

As for the batcave, this unique feature is secluded down below in the basement. Dreamt up as a workshop-slash-design-studio, the secret room is only accessible via a hidden staircase found in a corner of the games room and concealed by retracting floorboards. Entered through the comic-book-esque corridor, the workshop offers a highly private and secure base for designing and repairing new technological components. 

The Grounds

Up above, the main reception rooms and kitchen opens onto the gardens via French doors – perfectly set-up for al fresco entertaining. Alongside its almost 8,000 sqft of external terraces, the home looks out over south-west facing gardens designed by landscaper Kate Gould Gardens in collaboration with SHH. Out here, key features include a central main lawn bordered by a terraced summer dining area with pergola, a sunken fire-pit with built-in seating, stepped planters, new trees and hedging, plus a range of seasonal plants including lavender, camelia, Japanese maple trees, laurel trees, ferns and flowering trees. 

On the market for £29.95m. Find out more at draperlondon.com