So who is the Russian billionaire buying the world’s most expensive property?

The sale of La Léopolda, a sumptuous villa on the Côte d’Azur set in 8 hectares of immaculately kept land, is set to be finalised in September after months of negotiations.

Its price tag, is understood to be between £312m-£392m, which would smash the record for the greatest amount of money ever paid for a property.

The property is located in the picturesque coastal village near Nice.

Rumours that the owner of Chelsea football club, Roman Abramovich, was adding another home to his property empire were swiftly denied so the identity of the property buyer continues a mystery.

The only thing known about the buyer is that he is one of the growing number of Russians who are descending on the south of France, it is believed to have wanted La Léopolda so badly that he raised his offer to extreme heights.

According to a regional legal expert, many potential buyers on the Côte d’Azur are motivated by nostalgia, he says: ‘The new Russians attach a great deal of sentimental value to the region where the Russian aristocracy used to come on holiday 70 years ago.’

The deal looks certain to put previous property deals in the shade. The previous record holder bought a property in west London for £80m.

The property, set in rolling grounds dotted with more than a thousand olive, lemon and orange trees, was built at the turn of the century by the Belgian king Léopold II.

Sounds lovely, But I’m not sure hundreds of millions lovely!