ITwould be a snip at twice the price. For the princely sum of [pounds]8000 a month, Scots film director Michael Caton-Jones has rented a five-bedroom home in Bayswater, London.
Not just any old home, you understand, but one which is owned by none other than Tony and Cherie Blair.
The prime minister's lengthy search for a tenant for his [pounds]3.65m capital property has ended - though not, perhaps, in the way he and his wife would have hoped.
The original asking price was reputed to have been [pounds]15,000 a month but, after six months on the market, the Blairs were yesterday reported to have settled for just over half that figure.
After fees are taken into consideration, the couple will probably pocket even less.
Some estimates suggest that the mortgage repayments are in the region of [pounds]12,000 a month.
The Blairs purchased the property in fashionable Connaught Square, close to Hyde Park, last September as a "retirement'' home for when the prime minister eventually steps down.
Caton-Jones, the 46-year-old Broxburn-born film-maker, has already taken up residence with his partner, film producer Laura Viederman and their young daughter.
A removal lorry has been seen delivering the family's furniture and personal effects to the address.
It is understood that the Blairs invested a substantial amount of money refurbishing the five-storey house after early interest in renting the property failed to entice a tenant.
Caton-Jones, who spends much of his time in Hollywood, is the director of Rob Roy, Memphis Belle and City By The Sea.
The Blairs' involvement in the property ladder has not been without controversy. They purchased two expensive apartments in Bristol as an investment, a move which resulted in newspaper headlines after it became known that conman Peter Foster had helped in the deal.
After moving into 10 Downing Street the couple sold their old home in Islington. They are said to have sold it for [pounds]615,000 at the time. It sold again last year for [pounds]1.6m.
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