Steven Bartlett is said to have angered Cape Town residents with the decision to sell his local mansion – but a friend described the pad as a ‘victim of his success’.
The Dragons’ Den star is selling his property in South Africa, which he has done up since buying it in 2024.
The 33-year-old podcaster has put the seven-bedroom mansion, which sits on the slopes of Table Mountain, on the market for £8.5million – twice the price he paid.
A friend of Bartlett’s has clarified that he ‘loves’ the South Africa home, adding to Metro: ‘He’s just not able to visit it enough.
‘In the last couple of years, his business has exploded. Diary of a CEO is on track to be the biggest podcast in the world, and his team has grown hugely.
‘His business has expanded so much – with offices now in the US as well as the UK – that most of his time is taken up criss-crossing the Atlantic. Unfortunately, that means the pad in South Africa has had to take a back seat.’
The friend of Bartlett’s also noted that he and his girlfriend Melanie Lopes, who he proposed to earlier this year, only visited the property for four weeks in 2025.
You can access completely fee-free mortgage advice with London & Country (L&C) Mortgages, a partner of Metro. Customers benefit from:
– Award winning service from the UK’s leading mortgage broker
– Expert advisors on hand 7 days a week
– Access to 1000s of mortgage deals from across the market
Unlike many mortgage brokers, L&C won’t charge you a fee for their advice.
Find out how much you could borrow online
Mortgage service provided by London & Country Mortgages (L&C), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (registered number: 143002). The FCA does not regulate most Buy to Let mortgages. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
They added: ‘With him basically splitting his time between London and LA, that’s on track to be even less this year, so it just doesn’t make any sense to keep it. He loves it, but just can’t make the time to stay there.