Villa Unda Maris, an enormous property under construction on the Rock, has gone under the gavel and achieved an eye-watering sale price of €75,300,000.
The auction of an exceptional property in Monaco is not an everyday occurrence and is even more rare when the estate boasts a total area of 2.246m2.
This was the case with Villa Unda Maris, formerly known as Villa Saint-Martin, which went to auction on Friday 15th January at the Courthouse in Monaco.
According to a report by Monaco Matin, interest was high, with over 20 potential buyers in the courtroom trying their luck at gaining this exceptional piece of real estate.
As revealed in the auction’s legal announcement, there was a €15 million deposit required just to participate in the auction, originally scheduled for November 2020.
Located at 11 Avenue Saint Martin and neighbouring National Council headquarters, the main building was built over seven floors, including two subterranean levels. There is also a four-story outbuilding with a large garden. Princess Stephanie of Monaco and Caroline, Princess of Hanover are both residents of Avenue Saint Martin.
The starting price was €60 million. Two and a half hours after the start of the auction, a purchaser reportedly walked away with the property for €77,300,000, a bargain compared to the estimate made by a valuation expert who claimed its worth to be €165 million, or €75,000 per square metre, after construction works are complete.
The buyer was a Monaco-based company, but the person behind the company is said to be a Greek billionaire who lives in the Principality.
The property is not without issues, though. The current owner saddles the new one with a mortgage for an unpaid credit on the purchase and reconstruction works of Unda Maris, and there is always a chance another buyer may appear and offer to pay more before the ink has dried on the sale.
The liquidation of the villa was requested by Société Générale Luxembourg under the representation of Thomas Giaccardi. The debtor was assisted by Hervé Campana.
Written by Stephanie Horsman and Cassandra Tanti. Photo: Reconstruction drawing of Villa Unda Maris