Landlord to sell rest of property empire for £90m

Fergus Wilson deal with housing association

Controversial landlord Fergus Wilson is aiming to sell off the last of his property empire to a housing association in Kent in a deal thought to be worth about £90 million.

The housing mogul, who once owned around 1,000 homes in the county, has received about 20 inquiries from potential buyers for the last 300 houses in his portfolio.

Maidstone-based housing association Golding Homes has emerged as a late bidder for the properties, which Mr Wilson prefers because the company has indicated it would continue to house current tenants.

It is thought the deal could be completed by August, depend- ing on how rigorously Golding Homes wants to view the properties before agreeing any purchase.

The news comes a week after Mr Wilson was widely criticised for his appearance on a Panorama documentary about his career. He later accused the BBC of bias.

Mr Wilson said: “I shall be very sorry to see the houses go which my wife and I have built up over many years.

“I am not restricting my options but make it clear that a purchaser such as Golding Homes will keep the properties available to rent indefinitely whereas if the portfolio were sold to Overseas Buyers who knows whether the portfolio would be split up and sold on and current tenants evicted.

“Golding Homes has confirmed to me that current tenants will be protected and that is very important to me. It is now a matter of watch this space.”

Mr Wilson began breaking up his portfolio in 2015, when he announced he had sold his empire for £250 million. It has since emerged he was selling off the properties in a more piecemeal fashion.

‘I shall be very sorry to see the houses go’

Fergus Wilson was the subject of a BBC documentary earlier this month