Everything from the tiling to the plumbing is finished there and winched on the roof in modules and joined together.The Penthouse, at the top of the landmark Montevetro, the Richard Rogers designed “glass mountain” on the south bank of the Thames in Battersea, would satisfy the sharpest of critics. It is on the 18th and 19th floors with views on all sides plus a terrace that has been given definition with large, bold sculptures in marble and terracotta. It is being sold after a refurbishment at £3.95m through Knight Frank and Beaney Pearce.At one of the penthouses on the Canary Riverside development, Canary Wharf in east London, Eva Jiricna, the acclaimed architect, has used the spectacular panorama to enormous effect. The duplex penthouse on the 21st and 22nd floor of the Berkeley Tower has a striking staircase with glass treads and in the bathroom, a glass bath in the centre looks over the river.The main bedroom has a rotating round bed and colour-wash lighting. Every detail has been finished to the highest quality with the choice of materials and cleverly hidden hanging space and kitchen storage. The gated entrance to the development is manned 24 hours a day. The two Jiricna-designed penthouses are for sale at £3.95m, excluding furnishings which cost a further £70,000.At Chelsea Bridge Wharf, the Berkeley Homes development in Queenstown Road, there will be 10 penthouses in all.

Paul Vallone, the operations director, says they are talking to interested buyers about the design of the largest of more than 2,500sq ft. “It is difficult to anticipate exactly what someone might want and at this stage they can influence the layout.” The price will be about £3m, but there are those as small as 650sq ft on the top floor, which are also being sold as penthouses.At West End Quay, the mixed-use development in Paddington, 15 penthouses cost between £700,000 and £1.75m. Simon Isdell-Carpenter, the sales and marketing director of Westcity Properties, defines a penthouse. “On opening the front door, the purchaser should be bowled over by the wow factor.

Contemporary design, ceilings with a minimum height of three metres, clever use of glass to maximise light and beautifully designed fixtures and fittings are a must.”In Cardiff, Countryside Properties have released a top-floor apartment in their waterside development for £550,000, which earned itself the title of most expensive penthouse in Wales. In Manchester, the developers Dandara have sold, off-plan, four of the 10 duplex penthouses on the 11-storey Lock Building in the city centre which overlooks south Manchester Plains and the canal. The apartments have floor-to-ceiling windows and high ceilings. Their price between £395,000 and £445,000, has generated a great deal of interest, not least from footballers.In Birmingham, footballers have also made inroads into “b Central”, a Nicholson Estates development in the heart of the city. The penthouses have terraces of more than 1,000 sq ft, with high interior specifications There is secure parking and a concierge.

The price of a three bedroom penthouse is £750,000.Sotheby’s International Realty: 020 7598 1600Beaney Pearce: 020 7590 9500Canary Riverside, agents FPD Savills: 020 7531 2512West End Quay: 020 7424 6717Dandara Sales: 0161 236 4040Nicholson Estates: 07000 212 476. The rave, the Eighties phenomenon that spawned ecstasy and acid house and became the scourge of farmers and police forces, is back. The losers are the superclubs, born in response to the controversial Criminal Justice Act that made outdoor gatherings with “a repetitive beat” illegal but now suffering a slump in attendances as young people turn their backs on commercialism and look for something with more edge.Next month, Mixmag, the bible of dance, is planning to devote an issue to the new rave scene, with guides to holding them and maps of where they can be found. Viv Craske, the magazine’s acting editor, said: “Many of the guys promoting the club scene are now a lot older than the people they actually want to attract.”You go to a big club, pay your £15 and find that the music is quite boring. Instead, more intimate clubs and illegal raves in fields and old buildings, where you and your friends know the promoter, are becoming more attractive.”It’s having an effect on the bigger clubs, Cream in Liverpool, Gatecrasher in Sheffield and the Ministry of Sound in London. Gatecrasher used to be on every week and it’s now once a month Cream has sub-let its courtyard for live music.