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US chat show host Ellen DeGeneres’ flood-cursed Cotswolds farmhouse is on the brink of sale after she secretly slashed an astonishing £4.5 million off its asking price, the Daily Mail can reveal.
When Kitesbridge Farm near Burford was put up for sale last July, baffled local estate agents described the asking price – 50 per cent more than what she bought it for a year earlier – as ‘absolutely crazy’.
Since it went on the market it has continued to be plagued by flooding with the River Windrush, a tributary of the Thames which runs through its 43-acre Oxfordshire spread, often breaking its banks.
Meanwhile Ellen herself – and her wife actress Portia De Rossi – bought a further £15 million home, significantly on a hilltop, near the celebrity enclave of Chipping Norton which is half an hour north due in part to the persistently high flood waters at Kitesbridge Farm.
Then, various reports before Christmas claimed Ellen and Portia were so fed up with long British winters (this being their second) that they were packing up and moving back to sunny Montecito in California (albeit perhaps temporarily) to catch up with old friends.
Unhelpfully also, Rachel Reeves’ budget at the end of November also compounded the problems selling Kitesbridge Farm, when she announced houses of this price would be subject to a £7,500 annual ‘mansion’ tax.
Interest in the farm is thought to have ground to a halt at the end of last year, at which point, Sotheby’s International started, on Ellen’s instruction, quietly putting the word out to interested parties that she was slashing its price from £22.5 million to £18 million – a £4.5 million price cut.
The Daily Mail have gone to Ellen’s representatives for comment.
A source familiar with the sale explained its complex nature to the Daily Mail: ‘There is firm interest at the moment in Kitesbridge which is why it has vanished from the website for the moment.
‘We have an American buyer lined up and are going through the motions. Its disappearance from the website is part of the agreement between the vendor and the buyer.
‘So it appears as ‘no longer available’ just while try and sort out final terms etc etc. The situation will be clearer in the next few days.’
The source continued: ‘It has been widely publicised and it’s no secret that the current owners (Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi) bought the property at £15 million.
‘They then spent £7.5million on re-doing it both externally and internally. They then curated with their interior designer all the furniture which is included in the price.
‘So that is where the initial £22.5 million price came from. It was felt that at least there was a need to recover the owner’s financial position.
‘Then more recently, the price was reduced to £18 million but that was not publicized. We were just able to mention that to people as and when they called.
‘It was an unusual strategy but sometimes adverse publicity can affect the business of certain clients. There was no pressure on the client to sell (Ellen and Portia are worth £400 million).’
And indeed in recent days, interested parties enquiring about Kitesbridge Farm on estate agents Sotheby’s International’s website have been met with the prompt: ‘This property is no longer available’.
Ellen unusually decided to do a one-women show in Cheltenham in July of last year during which she announced to a surprised audience that the initial Cotswolds farmhouse in Asthall near Burford was now up for sale.
A day later – on July 11 – it emerged that she had put the property on the market with Sotheby’s International estate agents for £22.5 million, which represented a 50 per cent price hike.
The colossal price rise for an estate which had a well-publicised flooding concern seemed back then to be baffling to local Cotswolds estate agents.
One estate agent, who was familiar with the initial sale to Ellen back in June of 2024 simply said: ‘Well, £22.5 million is an absolutely crazy price.
‘I know Ellen has had some interior decorating work done, and there has been a small amount of landscaping too. But she bought the place for £15 million 12 months ago.
‘And even then she paid £2.5m million over the asking price which was just £12.5 million. So £10 million has been added to what it was being marketed at 12 months ago.
‘Good luck to her of course. A house is worth what someone will pay for it.’
Top end estate agents Sotheby’s International Realty started marketing the seven-bedroomed home back in July as a ‘A Landmark Country Estate in the Heart of the Cotswolds’
The agent described how the farm is ‘Discreetly set at the end of a long private driveway, and has been beautifully reimagined over the past year to an exceptional standard.
‘The estate blends period character with sleek, modern design across 43 acres of rolling Cotswold countryside. The main house unfolds around a central landscaped courtyard, a lovely focal point that brings light and flow to the interiors.
‘A series of generous reception rooms overlook this space, creating a seamless link between indoors and out. Designed for both grand-scale entertaining and relaxing, the layout combines sharp architectural detail with a contemporary eye for volume, proportion and finish.’
The lavish description continues: ‘At the heart of the house is a vast kitchen and breakfast room, anchored by bespoke cabinetry and elegant natural materials.
‘The ground floor also holds the principal suite, a beautiful space with two dressing rooms, a marble-clad ensuite and French doors leading to a private garden.
‘Upstairs are five further bedrooms, alongside a large sitting room offering flexible family accommodation.
‘Beyond the main residence, a charming two-bedroom guest cottage provides private accommodation for extended family, visiting friends or staff, with its own kitchen and sitting room.
‘There is also a converted granary building with a heated five-car garage, a kitchenette, and, upstairs, an impressive party barn with its own pub, ideal for entertaining on a generous scale.
‘Leisure and wellness are superbly catered for: A purpose-built suite features a heated indoor swimming pool, gym, shower facilities and changing room, while a separate helicopter shed offers further potential, with scope for conversion into an indoor padel court, artist’s studio, or private office.
‘The gardens and grounds have been thoughtfully landscaped to frame the house and its surrounds.
‘There are formal lawns, a kitchen garden, sculpted paddocks, and a series of outdoor living areas, including a covered dining space within the inner courtyard.
‘The estate enjoys complete privacy yet remains wonderfully connected, just moments from the postcard-pretty village of Asthall, home to an award-winning, and within easy reach of Estelle Manor, Soho Farmhouse and The Club by Bamford.’
