Open-day bonus: Glimpse of billionaire's refuge

As the 15th-richest person on the planet and employing as many as 40 bodyguards, Roman Abramovich is deservedly regarded as someone who values his privacy and would take a dim view of members of the public popping their heads over his garden fence.

It is therefore a fair bet that the Russian plutocrat and his girlfriend, Dasha Zhukova, will not be in residence at their new £25 million ($52.8 million) "stop gap" mansion in one of London's most expensive addresses on September 17 this year, when the doors are opened to the hoi polloi on a neighbouring property owned by the National Trust.

While most people stay with the in-laws or buy an on-site caravan when the builders move in, Abramovich, 44, has bought the nine-bedroom, 10-bathroom house in Chelsea as a temporary abode while another piece of prime London real estate is converted into his £150 million ($315.5 million) showpiece residence.

Such is the extent of the renovations ordered by the Chelsea Football Club owner on the block in Knightsbridge, that the work could take three years to complete.

Once finished, the 2790sqm property should be the most expensive home in Britain.

In the meantime, the house overlooking the Thames and previously occupied by such diverse luminaries as artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler and society fascist Diana Mitford, should keep Abramovich, Zhukova, 29, and the couple's 1-year-old son in the manner to which they are accustomed.

But while the imposing Grade II-listed home has many of the features required by a billionaire in search of a modest pad, such as parking for eight cars, a music room and a separate annex for domestic staff, it does have one small shortcoming that might trouble publicity-shy high rollers.

The handsome property was once part of the original manor house of Chelsea built on the site of Sir Thomas More's garden, which is now owned by the National Trust. The trust leases its part of the mansion to tenants but opens the entrance and gardens, designed by Sir Edward Lutyens, to the public on certain days.

One such occasion will be the annual Open House London day on September 17-18, when hundreds of important or unusual properties usually closed to the public are opened.

The event will mean visitors to this corner of Chelsea admiring the shrubberies, will be able to crane their necks for a rare view of Abramovich's back garden and possibly his taste in interior design.

Property experts expressed surprise that the oligarch, worth about £14 billion (nearly $30 billion), chose a home so easily overlooked by the great unwashed.

Property search agent Simon Barnes told the Sunday Times: "Most people at that price level have a problem with this free access."

Abramovich is famous for protecting his privacy and his safety.

When abroad, he has a protection squad to guard him on visits to his £15 million chateau on the French Riviera or mansions on the outskirts of Moscow.

His largest yacht, the 170m Eclipse, has a military-grade missile defence system, bullet-proof windows and armour plating around the main bedroom suite.

It is unlikely such mod-cons will be needed in his new home.

Instead, Abramovich may install some recent purchases. The art lover has built up an impressive collection, with works by Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon.

And the decision this month by the London-based mystery owner of the world's costliest painting, Picasso's Nude, Green Leaves and Bust, to loan the £66 million work to the Tate Modern gallery prompted speculation that its owner is Abramovich.

His properties

London
Properties in Knightsbridge and Chelsea worth £150 million and £25 million

France
A chateau at Cap d'Antibes on the Riviera worth about £15 million

America
Two houses in the exclusive ski resort of Aspen, ColoradoThe CaribbeanTwo houses on the island of St Barts

Russia
Two mansions near Moscow and a flat in the far eastern province of Chukotka

- INDEPENDENT