Vast Essex island with 38 houses where Rihanna and Stormzy recorded albums hits market for £25 million

28 April 2025, 12:25

If you’ve ever dreamed of owning a private island and have a spare £25 million, you are officially in luck.

The vast Osea Island in Essex, alongside 38 houses, a golf course and a recording studio, is officially for sale.

Available via luxury real estate agent Knight Frank and located on the river Blackwater just 40 miles from London, the 380-acre Island, which has been the playground for the likes of Rihanna and Stormzy, will set you back the small sum of £25 million.

Accessible only by boat and air, Osea Island features a jetty and dry dock as well as its own landing strip.

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The island has a historic past, serving as a secret naval base during World War One and being owned by Cambridge University during the Second World War.

In the 1950s, the stunning Island went into private hands and since 2004 has been owned by producer Nigel Frieda of Rolling Stones and Sugababes fame.

Since its conversion into a luxury getaway spot for the top brass of society, the likes of Stormzy, Charli XCX, George Ezra and Rihanna have reportedly rented the Island.

UK-based rap artist Stormzy used the Island as a backdrop to his most recent album This Is What I Mean, describing his time there as a “surreal experience”.

X-Factor legend Olly Murs married his wife Amelia Tank there in 2023, while 2012 saw it become the set of Daniel Radcliffe’s horror hit The Woman in Black.

In all, the island has 38 separate properties, all included in the deal, with 90 bedrooms.

Perhaps its crowning achievement is the island’s Edwardian manor house.

Or if you have more modern sensibilities, there are a slew of luxury apartments on the island.

Alongside the larger homes is the island’s village, its pub, the Puffin, a cafe and a cinema.

“This is an exceptional opportunity to purchase a unique self-contained and self-sufficient island of approximately 80 acres with an established revenue stream and excellent reputation, along with substantial opportunities to expand the business and infrastructure further,” Knight Frank writes.

“Osea Island presents an exceptionally rare, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire a private island of remarkable scale and historical significance,” adds Georgie Veale, senior negotiator at Knight Frank.

“Offering extensive land and multiple properties, it affords the purchaser unparalleled exclusivity, privacy, and a wide range of potential uses.”