James Bond penthouse in former MI6 headquarters on sale for £5.5m
A penthouse apartment in the former MI6 headquarters that was once home to the real-life inspiration for James Bond’s boss M has gone on the market for £5.5m.
The bombproof flat, located in Whitehall Court in the heart of Westminster, is part of the original London base of the Secret Intelligence Service.
It also served as a pied-a-terre for Sir Mansfield Smith-Cumming, the founder of MI6 and Ian Fleming’s inspiration for the character M in the James Bond series.
The flat, which offers wealthy 007 fans a slice of espionage history, also makes a cameo appearance in the upcoming Bond film No Time To Die.
The 4,144 square foot apartment is spread over the top three floors of the famous former government property and boasts a 53 feet roof terrace with panoramic views over Whitehall.
The luxury pad also features reinforced steel beams and specially hardened flooring installed by the secret services during the First World War.
The apartment has three bedrooms and the eighth floor features a main reception area that once housed officers where Smith-Cumming briefed British spies.
Smith-Cumming became known for signing off reports in green ink with either a C or M — a practice that continues at MI6 to this day.
British security services also used the Whitehall hideout, which was so top secret it did not officially exist, to create new gadgets including invisible ink, pens containing poison and bombs disguised as rats.
The flat is part of a complex of luxury flats at the Portland stone Whitehall Court, where previous residents include William Gladstone, Lord Kitchener and George Bernard Shaw.
Gary Hersham, Founding Director of Beauchamp Estates, which is handling the sale, said: “Who doesn’t love the excitement and glamour of the secret services, spies, gadgets and James Bond?
“Whitehall Court, with its blue plaque denoting the founding home of the British secret service is located in the heart of the government quarter and within it this unique penthouse, located in the eaves of the building, helps to shine a spotlight on the thrilling history of the secret service and the 007-style agents.”
Image credits: Beauchamp Estates