Luxury Knightsbridge apartment for rent: exclusive One Hyde Park home the size of 20 London flats can be yours - for £2 million (a year)

Two million pounds might seem a more than reasonable price tag for a home in one of central London’s most exclusive addresses - but in this case it only covers the first year’s rent.

A huge seventh floor apartment at One Hyde Park near Harrods has come on the market at £40,000 a week in one of the most expensive rental deals seen so far this year in the capital.

The five-bedroom furnished flat occupies an entire floor of one of the four “pavilions” that make up arguably London’s most famous luxury development, providing sweeping views over the park and over Knightsbridge.

It is one of only two residences of that size to have come available for rent since the scheme was launched in 2011 by developers Nick and Christian Candy and the former prime minister of Qatar.

Details of what is described as a “truly exceptional apartment” by agents Mark Tunstall Property reveal that it is divided into two “wings”.

The bedrooms are all on the “city side” overlooking busy Knightsbridge while the living and entertaining spaces, including a 45 ft wide formal reception room with balcony have Hyde Park vistas.

There is also a dining room to seat ten people, a cinema room and two studies, as well as a large kitchen equipped with Bulthaup units and Gaggenau appliances and a smaller “prep kitchen.”

The five bathrooms have sunken marble basins, “cavernous” walk-in showers with body jets and “rain shower” heads and freestanding baths.

A 35-metre hallway connecting all the rooms runs along the entire length of the 9,215sq ft apartment - big enough to fit around twenty times average-sized London flats inside.

Agent Mark Tunstall said the current tenants had served notice two weeks ago and marketing has begun this week. He said: ”At this sort of extremely rarified price level there are either people who could come in and snap it up immediately - or there are not. It could take six months, but these large lateral apartments are very unusual.”

Agents say deals of this sort with rent running to millions of pounds a year have become far more common since the Brexit referendum three years ago. Political uncertainty have made the super-wealthy more reluctant to make the longer term commitment to London of an outright trophy property purchase costing tens of millions of pounds.