A former residence of New Zealand high commissioners has become the most expensive terraced home in London.

The 2000 square metre grade 1 listed mansion at 1 Cornwall Tce overlooking Regent's Park has been bought for £80 million (NZ$144m) by British property mogul Marcus Cooper.

The sale price was £20m off the asking price, but Cooper also has to pay £12m in stamp duty, the Daily Mail reported.

From 1962 until 1972, the end-of-terrace home was the official London residence of the New Zealand high commissioner but was leased rather owned by the New Zealand Government.  In 1975 hippies broke in and turned it into a temporary squat.

Before the latest sale, no expense had been spared to turn the four-storey property into one of London's premier trophy homes.

Along with seven bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, nine reception rooms and a catering kitchen, the property has marble and limestone-lined halls, iPad-controlled lighting, a gym, swimming pool, a 40-metre long landscaped garden, and a grand double staircase connecting the terrace and landscaped areas.

It was originally designed and built in the 1820s by architect Decimus Burton, who also built Buckingham Palace, with the project overseen by the famed John Nash.

Cooper has set up a separate company to buy the house, with the sale being one of Britain's biggest-ever property deals.

Past purchases in London by Cooper, who has spent 20 years buying some of the city's finest homes, include the 25-bedroom Witanhurst in Highgate.

Six or seven houses were said to have sold in London for more than £50m in the past six months.

Property expert Henry Pryor told the Daily Mail the Cornwall Tce property was probably in the top eight per cent of homes in London.

- © Fairfax NZ News