An eight-bedroom home lived in by pop star Rihanna has been sold to a Chinese buyer for £27.5 million.

The Barbadian singer and businesswoman is understood to have lived in the luxurious St John’s Wood Park house for nearly two and a half years between 2018 and 2020, before it went on the market in 2021.

Rihanna owned the home while she dated Saudi businessman Hassan Jameel, after telling the New York Times in 2019 that she moved to London to be closer to her Fenty cosmetics team.

Ham & High: A look inside the St John's Wood homeA look inside the St John's Wood home (Image: Aston Chase)

During her time in the capital, fans were amused to see a picture of the star with a Sainsbury’s ‘Bag for Life’ in the background, with one saying “she truly is one of the people”.

Local builder William Holme Twentyman originally constructed the detached home for Daniel Francis, of the De Beers diamond company, in 1844.

It was designed by renowned architect John Shaw Junior and the house is the only one of Twentyman/Shaw’s original V-plot villas on St John’s Wood Park that has survived, with all the others either demolished, adapted or the plots compromised.

Estate agents Savills and Aston Chase listed the property with multiple receptions, family room, a gymnasium with a weights room and exercise studio, two entire floors of entertaining space and a large landscaped rear garden.

Stephen Lindsay, the head of the north London and St John’s Wood Savills office, said: “Savills is delighted to have introduced the buyer and successfully sold this famous house on St John’s Wood Park in one of the biggest deals in St John’s Wood in 2023.

“This is an extremely special house, the only one of Royal architect John Shaw’s original villas on St John’s Wood Park to have survived into the 21st Century.

“The substantial price achieved firmly underlines the value and quality of this unique trophy home and the enduring appeal of St John’s Wood with buyers from both the UK and from around the world.”

Mark Pollack, the co-founding director of Aston Chase, added that the sale is “indicative of the surge in demand” from Chinese buyers for homes in London.

He added: “Also, this sale at circa £3,500 per sq ft represents a record price for the St John’s Wood area reflecting the substantial planning consent obtained, the large plot and the secure carriage drive which are amenities normally associated with homes further out in the suburbs of London."