The controversial sale of 21 and 23 Park Street, Borough — billed at the time as the most expensive ex-local authority sell-off in history — saw the investor secure the two neighbouring houses for £2.96 million.
 
Now, after an 18-month renovation by Camu Morrison, the first of the houses has been put back on the market — for £3.35 million.
 
Southwark council granted planning consent for the refurbishment of both houses, including building new conservatories and replacing balconies with “winter gardens”.

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It is thought that the second house will be brought to the market soon. If both houses sell at asking price, the investor will have doubled their money.

Protesters from campaign group, Housing Action Southwark Lambeth, briefly occupied the Grade II-listed building, claiming that the council was collaborating in “social cleansing” by selling off council homes to developers interested in creating top-end homes for wealthy UK and international buyers.
 
Southwark, for its part, said that the money raised would fund the building of about 20 new council homes in the borough.  

Councillor Mark Williams, Southwark’s regeneration and new homes chief, defended the sale, saying the council had secured the best possible price for the properties at the time.
 
“Rather than spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on refurbishing just two homes, this money has allowed us to invest in our council homes,” he said.
 
“Southwark has an ambitious plan to build 11,000 new council homes for our residents, with the first 21 opening in Bermondsey very soon.”
 

 
The Park Street homes were sold in a state of serious disrepair after years of neglect by the council. They were on English Heritage’s at-risk register and were partly held up by scaffolding.
 
But the houses are in a fabulous location, close to Borough Market, the Shard and Bankside.
 
According to Zoopla, the average property price in the area stands at just over £580,000, up 20.19 per cent in the past two years.
 
The four-bedroom townhouse now on the market, built in 1830, is being sold by agent Domus Nova, which describes it as having undergone “one of the most comprehensive and unique rebuilds and refurbishments in recent years”.
 
“This brave and playful home oozes creativity and personality throughout,” reads the sale brochure. “This Georgian home will engage with every sense, combining striking colourful details and textures with well-balanced architectural references throughout.”