(Bloomberg) — When Neil Thomas was looking for a house in 1997, the investment banker had very specific requirements. “I told my wife to buy something within 15 minutes of Heathrow because I was traveling a lot for work, and make sure it has at least five 40-foot trees in the garden,” says Thomas. Coming from South Africa, he says, he was especially keen on ample outdoor space.
They found a property that ticked all the family’s boxes. Called Home Farm, it’s located in the Wentworth Estate in the affluent suburb of Virginia Water, some 12 miles from Heathrow and 24 miles from central London. “It just had the most wonderful feeling of both being in the country and being so close to London,” he says.
At the time, Home Farm was owned by English football legend Trevor Francis, the first British player to command a £1 million transfer fee—Thomas calls him the “Beckham of his time.” Thomas loved the spacious, airy feel of the place, and as a keen golfer, he also valued the location, on the 18th hole of the world-famous PGA championship West Course of the Wentworth Club. The Wentworth Estate is known for being a private enclave of large, detached homes, which has attracted celebrities and the global wealthy—Elton John and Cliff Richard formerly owned homes there.
“You can get home pretty easily from the golf course,” Thomas says, adding that now that he’s retired, he hits the links around three times a week and just walks home. He says the house is quiet and tranquil, aside from the odd golf ball that ends up near the gate.
“That’s all good, I’ll just put the ball in my golf bag,” jokes Thomas.
Now he’s listed the home with Knight Frank for around £13 million ($17.5 million). For that, a buyer gets a five-bedroom main house, an additional two-bedroom cottage, a party barn, a pool and a tennis court spread over 2.26 acres.
Thomas says he’s selling because he feels ready to downsize. “I’m 77 now, my wife is 74, and we don’t have any live-in help, so things are getting a little tougher for us now,” he says.
The main house is a thatched, five-bedroom, five-bath family property set over two floors and 5,500 square feet. It dates back to the early 1920s when the original developer of the Wentworth Estate, WG Tarrant, first purchased the land. It was built in the arts and crafts style that was popular at the time.
The ground floor has a conservatory that looks out to the garden, a drawing room, dining room, kitchen, walk-in pantry and utility room. The principal bedroom and four additional bedrooms are all upstairs.
There’s an additional two-floor, two-bedroom guest cottage that can serve as guest accommodation. But Thomas’ favorite part of the property is the 2,200-square-foot party barn on the premises.
“When we bought the house, the barn was Trevor Francis’ badminton court,” Thomas says. “We went in and put in wooden floors and redid the barn completely.”
There’s now a pool table, a bar and plenty of spaces to socialize, alongside a bathroom and a mezzanine level that was Thomas’ office.
“I had my office upstairs until I retired, so anyone who would drive through a golf course, walk past a swimming pool and tennis court, then pass a pool table and bar and come up the stairs to my office must have really wanted to see me,” says Thomas.
He adds that the party barn made his four children particularly popular during their teenage years.
“All of my children had their 18th and 21st birthdays there, and it was party central for them growing up,” he says. He also says the secluded grounds of the property were an idyllic place to raise a family and has fond memories of the children running around outside when they were growing up.
Thomas thinks the house would be suitable for another big family but says it’s also possible that since the property isn’t listed, someone could knock it down and create their own dream home on the plot.
“The buyer will either be a family that absolutely loves the place, or somebody who comes in who wants to build something huge,” he says.
Thomas says he loved his time living at Home Farm but feels like now is the right time to move on. “We should have downsized five years ago, but we had a family meeting, and the family outvoted us.”
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