The dilapidated apartment on sale for an eye-watering £16million - it looks luxe until you step inside

Daily Mail​

24-04-2025

A graffitied and run-down duplex penthouse with horrific décor is on the market for a whopping £16million in Monaco.
Luxury property developer Guy Phoenix, from Warwickshire, has been building homes for the super rich for the past 25 years in Britain and the south of France.
The 51-year-old, who owns a ten bedroom mansion near St Tropez - a holiday spot loved by A-listers such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Moss and Beyoncé - has now set his sights on Monaco.
Known for being the second-smallest sovereign state in the world after Vatican City with a radius of just 0.8 square miles, its exclusivity attracts the ultra-wealthy - meaning properties there are gold dust and can go for millions.
The new Channel 4 series, Building Monaco's Superhomes, follows Guy as he views a run-down top floor apartment which boasts a terrace that overlooks much of the F1 Monaco Grand Prix racetrack and the famous Port Hercule.
But what does £16million get you in Monaco? The answer is gratified walls, dated furnishings, hideous wallpaper and a tiny kitchen.
Looking around the 163 sqm downstairs of the duplex property, Guy and the estate agent came across the words 'cigar room', which had been spray painted onto the white wall in the run-down office.
'Bit of artwork on the wall,' he joked as he continued the tour.
They then viewed one of the bathrooms in the home, which was covered in brown floral patterned seventies style tiles.
'I'm sure my grandma chose this tile years ago,' Guy said, as he did not seem impressed by the apartment.
But he was particularly disappointed by the narrow, dingy kitchen with old appliances, dull beige cupboards and ugly green tiles.
'That's the kitchen? You know when you buy a house in England you're not allowed to call that a kitchen. It's not big enough to be a kitchen,' Guy said.
Other areas of the penthouse have been painted odd colours such as red, yellow and grey walls with random letters painted on them in black graffiti.
Another bathroom had a small basic shower unit that wouldn't look out of place in a student house and the walls and ceiling were covered in bright green leafy wallpaper.
The roof terrace was the apartment's saving grace, as Guy gasped when he saw the £16million view.
'There you go, that's what it's all about. In Monaco what people want is space but the most important thing from my research it's all about the location and the view,' he said.
'I already feel that this is right, I can envisage what can be done here. I can do a lot with this.'
Guy estimated that he would have to spend a whopping £2million in renovations to get the apartment in a state where it can be sold for a profit and attract a new affluent owner willing to pay £22million for it.
But despite the eye-watering pricetag, the penthouse does not come with a parking space, which means that Guy had to rent one for a cool £500,000 for the duration of carrying out his project.
The cosy space in the underground car park was barely big enough to fit his Jeep in, meaning he had to squeeze in and out of his vehicle - not ideal for an area known for its love of ultra-wide supercars such as Ferrari and Lamborghini.
The property guru then brought on a partner, businessman Alex Hearn, who has money to be able to splash on the penthouse.
But it wasn't long until the pair run into trouble when £4million goes missing while transferring cash across banks.
'What the f*** is going on? So several million pounds has gone missing? We all need to calm down, we all need to relax a bit and see where this money has gone. Hopefully it arrives,' he said while on the phone with Alex.
'Right now we have £4million that has been lost, the Bank of England says it is not in receipt of it and the bank in Monaco says it returned it,' he said to the camera.
'I've got an agent who is screaming at the bank wanting her commission, I've got the seller who has another an offer with someone who doesn't need bank funding. I've got three people who are very unhappy.'
After finding the lost money, Guy and his team began ripping the apartment to shreds but an hour into starting the work, he received a noise complaint which was then followed up by a visit from the local authority.
'The previous owner had got permission [to do the work] but since we became the owner as of 4pm last night, that permission has now expired,' the father-of-four explained.
'Nobody explained this to me and I am beside myself now because new permission could take months or certainly weeks.'
The builders then put down their tools and were only allowed to pick them up three weeks later, when the work was finally put in Guy's name.
The team took sledgehammers to break down walls in a bid to create a larger kitchen and bedroom space.
No expense will be spared, as Guy and Alex are splashing out on a fancy lighting system controlled remotely in the house, a climate control system to keep the apartment at perfect temperature and a living wall effect to bring some greenery to the large terrace.