Britain's biggest buy-to-let landlords, Fergus and Judith Wilson, are to withdraw from the property business, selling their entire portfolio of nearly 1,000 homes in the Ashford and Maidstone area in a deal likely to net the controversial duo at least £100m – and spark speculation that property prices have peaked.
The Wilson's met with widespread condemnation earlier this year when it was revealed they had sent eviction notices to 200 tenants on housing benefit, saying they preferred eastern European migrants who default much less frequently than single mums on welfare. They first shot to prominence in 2006 when it was revealed that they had built up Britain's biggest buy-to-let empire, sometimes snapping up a property every day in the early part of the decade.
Fergus Wilson said a bounce-back in the local property market to above 2007 levels has prompted him to quit. In an email to The Guardian, he said: "We are selling up the whole lot! The market has recovered and passed the 2007 level.
"Who to? An intermediary is handling it. Is it China Money, Indian Money, Saudi Money? We will see. I am sure there will be much interest. It has been going on for just over three months and another three to run. I would like it to end up in English hands but it is a case of who will pay top dollar!"
He said existing tenants will be protected, with their rental contracts switched to the company or landlord that buys the portfolio. "We are protecting the Agents and Tenants who pick up a new client and landlord respectively. That is important to me. I will be broken hearted to say goodbye to my property portfolio but I cannot take it with me! It has been a lot of fun over the years."
Houses on the Park Farm estate in Ashford, where the Wilson's own scores of two- and three-bed properties, have jumped in value from a 2009 low of £150,000 to around £185,000, according to local estate agents Gould Harrison. "Over the last 18 months we have seen a strong recovery," said Nigel Gould, a partner in the firm.
Rents have also jumped, with new tenants of the Wilson's paying nearly £1,000 a month for a two-bed home compared to £725 in 2008.
Wilson did not disclose the price he is expecting to obtain for the properties, or the amount of mortgage debt attached to them. In 2010, he said the difference between his borrowing and the value of his properties "is around £180m, although it was as high as £225m." Since then, he has sold off some properties on a piecemeal basis. It is the second time the couple have attempted a trade sale of their portfolio, having been thwarted previously by the onset of the financial crisis.
Investors who are purchasing a rental portfolio are likely to value it on the yield – the level of the rental income – rather than the price individual houses would fetch at an estate agent.
After quitting the property market, Wilson said he will offer to help the government on housing policy.
"I might help sort out the Governments Housing Problem if they pay me enough money but I am not doing it for free! There is no magic wand to create overnight the number of houses required to overcome the Housing Crisis."