Mark Carney's London house: former governor of Bank of England's home for sale for £5.5m
The north London house rented by “rock star banker” Mark Carney while he was governor of the Bank of England is on the market for £5.5 million.
Carney paid £3,500 a week for the eight-bedroom property in South Hampstead, living there with his British-born economist wife Diana and their four daughters between 2015 and this year. He completed his term with the Bank in March, when Andrew Bailey became the new Governor.
The Arts & Crafts house boasts a wine cellar, a sunroom topped with a glass cupola, plus a separate studio with kitchenette for guests or staff.
The main bedroom suite is arranged over the first and second floors with a study area, walk-in dressing room, and an atrium with staircase leading up to the bedroom and bathroom.
Mark Pollack of selling agents Aston Chase said: “Whilst it benefits from easy access to the West End, City and Canary Wharf the house, priced at just £924 per square foot, represents exceptionally good value for money, as in neighbouring Hampstead and St John’s Wood comparable properties routinely sell for anything from £1,250 per square foot [unmodernised] up to £3,000 per square foot.”
Previously governor of the Bank of Canada, Carney, 55, relocated from Rockcliffe Park in Ottowa to London in 2013 when he was appointed to the UK’s central bank by then-Chancellor George Osborne.
Known as the George Clooney of finance, Carney was understood to be one of the highest-paid central bankers in the world with a package amounting to £883,911.
This included a £250,000 annual housing allowance. When the family first arrived in London they moved into a £3,750-a-week five-bedroom house in nearby Parsifal Road in West Hampstead.
The former Goldman Sachs banker was praised for his “down-to-earth” choice of location over flashier spots such as Mayfair or Knightsbridge, and his West Hampstead neighbours described him as “nice, natural and friendly”. Carney took the Tube to his office in the City and had his hair cut by his local barber in Mill Lane.
However, the fanfare around his arrival in the street was blamed for pushing up local rents. “Saying you lived in the same road as the Governor of the Bank of England obviously had a ring to it,” Rosalie Miles, chair of the Parsifal Road Residents’ Association told the Ham & High at the time.
Carney is understood to have moved back to Canada where he is writing a book and is working as the United Nations special envoy for climate action and finance. He has an unpaid role advising the British Government ahead of the UN climate change conference, due to be hosted in Glasgow next year.