I build £15m mega-mansions for Prem footballers… from 5G pitches to Bond-style secret rooms, the demands are incredible
WHAT’S the point of being a billionaire in this day and age if your home doesn’t come with a supercar elevator – or a swimming pool filled with Himalayan saltwater?
Yes, Britain has officially gone mega-mansion crazy, as an influx of stunning – and ridiculous – properties hit both our streets and screens.
While TV viewers can’t move for high-end property shows including Selling Sunset, Grand Designs and Crazy Rich Agents, we’re also falling over ourselves to sign up for raffles like Omaze, which offer ordinary punters the chance to snap up snazzy stately homes.
The luxury house market is booming too, with London last year reporting record sales in homes that cost £5million and above.
But what does it actually take to bring a millionaire’s grandest designs to life?
Daniel Ashville is one of a new generation of ‘mega builders’ whose expertise in building huge projects from the ground up has made him a social media sensation.
After setting up his first building firm in 2006, he began posting videos on his Instagram account and YouTube channel, where he now has nearly 500,000 subscribers.
His work has earned him celebrity clients such as ex-Premier League footballer Jack Wilshere and pop star Taio Cruz, and now attracted the attention of National Geographic.
His new show, Building Impossible with Daniel Ashville explores the world’s most extravagant construction projects, with the first episode going behind the scenes of the £1.5billion cruise liner Icon of the Seas.
We put on our hard-hats to join him in Guildford, Surrey, for a tour of his latest build – a stunning mega-mansion that could be yours… for the cool price of £15million.
Millionaires’ row
For decades, Guildford has been a haven for top athletes, business executives, and A-list celebrities – boasting more million pound-plus properties than anywhere else outside of London.
Here, it is not uncommon to see private helicopters hovering above its rows upon rows of huge mansions, including the near-complete site that greets us from behind a gated, leafy enclave.
With a secret games room, facial-recognition swimming pools and a 5G football pitch, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve arrived at the home of a top-flight Premier League footballer.
In fact, the property is so exclusive that it is being rented out solely to top Hollywood stars who are in town filming for short periods of time.
To stay, they simply have to fork out an eye-watering £250,000 a month.
In constructing this home, Daniel says he listened to the vision of the owners who told him “how they would like to live”.
“Everything is about the spaces and the flow between the rooms and how the house is going to be used,” he explains. “We ask clients what they want from their homes and what it means to them.
“It’s very important not to work around your house – your house has to work around you.”
Bomb-proof shutters & ‘Deals Room’
Every inch of the home goes above and beyond to offer its inhabitants luxury beyond their wildest dreams.
Fitted with a huge spiralling staircase and magnificent chandelier, the foyer leads to an office with bomb-proof shutters that can withstand the most intense explosives.
There is also the Deals Room, a popular feature among elite homeowners – it is where business agreements and deals are signed off.
In the living area, there is a TV wall that comes with a 105-inch screen that can be completely controlled from a mobile phone.
Instead of conventional wallpapers, the entertainment room is plastered with glistering luxurious fabrics.
A grand fireplace crackles in a corner, while a gigantic fish tank housing exotic fish serves as the only divide between the kitchen and living room.
A few metres away lies the huge indoor swimming pool, with a sauna room tucked away in one corner. To gain access to the area, you must be approved by facial recognition software – perfect for families with kids.
Upstairs in the huge master bedroom, the walls come with a secret compartment for valuables and blinds that can be manned from anywhere with the touch of a button on a mobile phone.
And what’s a mega-mansion without a massive walk-in closet? Clothes can be neatly hidden away behind huge mirrors that protect them from mould and dust.
According to Daniel, posh homeowners are now doing away with exposing their garms and installing huge mirrors in their place.
One of the most impressive features of the property is the games room, which is situated on the third floor. There, you will find a bar, a snooker table, a balcony with an incredible view, and a secret door that leads to a poker room.
To gain access, you would need to enter a PIN into a bust of James Bond to unlock the door. Once inside, you find yourself immersed in a lush soundproof room complete with a dance pole.
5G football pitch
The grand interiors are not the only selling point, with a treasure trove of features surrounding the home too.
In the backyard lies a huge garden with perfectly manicured lawns, neighboured by a professional 5G football pitch. To put it into perspective, a 3G pitch is enough to secure approval from FIFA, putting this ahead of many famous pitches around the world.
A short walk leads to the fully equipped ‘smart gym’, which comes fitted with LED lights that move to the rhythm of music.
Away from the gym, you can take a dip in the home’s huge 18-metre swimming pool, where I stretched my construction muscles laying a couple of tiles.
Of course, it is expected that whoever fancies the home will come with their own collection of supercars, so there is a designated parking space for a Rolls Royce, a Lamborghini, a Ferrari, and other luxury cars.
Impressive credentials
From a young age, getting into the construction industry was always Daniel’s ultimate goal.
He tells me: “It was always about ‘how do I build it’? I was the kid with the Lego kit with sets. Every truck I saw, I stopped and stared, every building site I saw I tried to pop my head in. I’ve always been obsessed with construction and engineering”.
He now owns a huge depot in West Drayton for his company, Ashville, which deals in new builds, aggregates, and concrete.
Videos he had filmed over the lockdowns were seen by executives at National Geographic, who gave him the chance to come up with his own show.
Back in the Deals Room, he tells me that starting a property like this from scratch is much quicker than refurbishing.
He says: “[If it’s new, it means] you are working with a blank canvas. When refurbishing a property, you’re working with the challenges and parameters of the shell you have.
“A lot of the time, you’re trying to protect the building externally, and then you’re working around it.”
For hopefuls who may be inspired by his journey, Daniel’s advice to them is to perfect their craft.
“It’s not about looking at the skyscraper, it’s about looking at doing the small element that you’re working on perfectly first,” he says.
Building Impossible with Daniel Ashville airs on Thursdays at 8pm on National Geographic.