Sir Cliff's new £3million Manhattan pad: Pop legend splashes out on two luxury apartments and converts them into one as he quits Britain for good
- 78-year-old pop legend's home is eighth floor of a 1950s block, Upper East Side
- Property is a short stroll from Central Park with impressive views of city skyline
- Last July, Sir Cliff won a £1 million High Court privacy case against the BBC over its intrusive live helicopter coverage
Sir Cliff Richard has splashed out on two apartments in one of New York's wealthiest areas and is converting them into a £3 million luxury home after quitting Britain for good.
The 78-year-old pop legend's new home is on the eighth floor of a 1950s block in the Upper East Side, a short stroll from Central Park, and comes with impressive views of the city skyline.
The building, which is staffed by a smartly uniformed doorman, is surrounded by designer shops and high-end restaurants.
Sir Cliff Richard arrives at the High Court in his case where he is suing the BBC for invasion of his privacy after a raid on his home in Sunningdale, Berkshire. The raid followed a sexual assault claim
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The Upper East Side is a bustling neighbourhood and a world away from Sunningdale, Berkshire, the location of his previous apartment, which was the scene of a police raid into baseless child sex abuse allegations against the star in 2014
Move it: Inside one of the New York apartments bought by Sir Cliff as he starts his new life in the United States
Move it: Inside one of the New York apartments bought by Sir Cliff as he starts his new life in the United States
The Upper East Side is a bustling neighbourhood and a world away from Sunningdale, Berkshire, the location of his previous apartment, which was the scene of a police raid into baseless child sex abuse allegations against the star in 2014.
Sir Cliff was not arrested and charges were never brought.
Last July, he won a £1 million High Court privacy case against the BBC over its intrusive live helicopter coverage, which he said had 'destroyed' him. The singer has since sold the property.
Sir Cliff Richard's new £3m Manhattan pad. Last July, he won a £1 million High Court privacy case against the BBC
Sir Cliff bought the first flat in the 16-storey building in 2005 for £1.2 million, adding the one next door for just under £1 million on September 11 last year
Yesterday, his friend Gloria Hunniford revealed that the storm had prompted him to abandon Britain. 'He was very disillusioned with what happened,' she told The Sun. 'He likes the anonymity in America. I don't think he will ever live here all the time again.' Sir Cliff bought the first flat in the 16-storey building in 2005 for £1.2 million, adding the one next door for just under £1 million on September 11 last year.
Also listed as a buyer is Sir Cliff's close friend John McElynn, a former Catholic priest from New York, who has lived with the star for more than a decade. In October, they got permission to knock through the connecting walls to create one 2,300 sq ft property.
Sir Cliff, worth a reported £70 million, previously divided his time between Sunningdale and homes in Portugal and Barbados.
A spokesman for Sir Cliff said: 'There will not be any comment on what is essentially a private matter other than to confirm Cliff's main home is in Barbados, as it has been for many years.'
