IT LOOKS like a dolls house but an Oxford house buyer is hoping the London pad he’s just snapped up for more than £700,000 will leave him quids-in.

Robin Swailes beat 18 other bidders and stumped up £113,000 over the asking price to bag the mini-mansion in Chelsea.

Measuring a diddy eight feet 10 inches wide by 14 feet deep, it’s what estate agents like to call ‘bijou’.

The one-up-one-down Georgian house, just off trendy King’s Road, has one reception room, a galley kitchen and a tiny bathroom downstairs.

Upstairs is nothing except one bedroom.

Despite needing major renovation, the 290-square feet house was on the market at £600,000 before Mr Swailes nabbed it for £713,823.

But he is so sure it’s a bargain, Mr Swailes cashed in his pension to fund the winning bid.

Mr Swailes, who runs Jericho-based letting agency North Oxford Property Services and Blue Sky Developments, said: “Cashing in my pension was the right thing to do.

“Some people are saying I overpaid but they are wrong.

“It must be the cheapest house in Chelsea.

“It’s a doll’s house but it’s very, very cool and nicely proportioned.”

Mr Swailes said he is viewing it as 'a long-term investment' and believes it will outperform his pension by 30 per cent during the next 10 years.

The sale price, reached through sealed bids, means the house fetched £2,461 per square feet.

Chelsea-based estate agents Douglas & Gordon said they had more than 100 viewings.

Sales manager Ed McCulloch described it as 'totally unique, a one-off'.

Mr Swailes declined to say how much he would need to spend on it but said it would need a 'substantial renovation'.

He pointed out: “Nothing has been done to it for 50 years to everything needs sorting – floors, walls, ceilings.”

He added: “It’s a detached, freehold Georgian house in Chelsea, so very attractive from my point of view.

“How many freehold properties can you buy in Chelsea? All the land around there is mostly owned by the Grosvenor estate.

“The estate agent said it might be worth up to a million pounds once it is refurbished.”

Mr Swailes, who exchanged contracts on Monday, expects to complete the sale in 30 days’ time.

The stamp duty tax on the purchase was £48,000.

It is thought the house was originally built to house grave diggers, who worked at the cemetery in St Luke’s Park next door.

Mr Swailes joked: “I won’t be adding a basement, because if I start digging down I might find something I don’t like.”