A MYSTERY buyer is in negotiations for a luxury stately home owned by property tycoon and former Newcastle United chairman Sir John Hall.

Grade II listed Wynyard Hall, near Teesside, which has about 20 bedrooms and also includes 800 acres of parkland, two lodges and a 15 acre lake, has been on the market for more than a year.

The property, which in its entirety is available for up to £8m, had been on the books of upmarket London estate agent FPD Savills.

But following a lack of firm interest, the Hall family later switched their sights a little closer to home placing Wynyard up for sale with Billingham-based Manners and Harrison.

Partner Julie Hulme said: "We are in the very early stages but we have got an interested party who we are in negotiations with at the moment.

"These things do take a lot of sorting out, as there is obviously a lot of money at stake."

An offer was made on the property over the summer from another potential buyer but it was rejected as it failed to reach the asking price.

Wynyard Hall, near Billingham, was rumoured at one stage to be interesting the recently married fashion designer Stella McCartney and her Middlesbrough fiance Alasdhair Willis.

Sir John bought and renovated the country mansion in 1987 and then passed it on to his son, Douglas, when he retired in 1993.

It features an octagonal hall, extending to the full height of the house, and lavishly decorated with stained-glass windows and six types of marble.

There is also a grand dining room, a ballroom and library and a drawing room with gilded ceilings and huge mirrors.

A former seat of the Marquess of Londonderry, comrade of the Duke of Wellington, its visitors have included Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Harold Macmillan.