Britain's biggest buy-to-let tycoons Fergus and Judith Wilson strike £250m deal with Arab investors to sell 900-property Kent empire
• Ex-maths teachers Fergus and Judith Wilson are selling property empire
• Buy-to-let landlords have struck deal on Kent homes with Arab investors
• They started portfolio nearly 30 years ago, when house prices were low
• Now, they are multi-millionaires and live in a £2m home near Maidstone
• They revealed intentions last year to sell properties to foreign investors
• Mr Wilson, 67, claims a similar property empire 'couldn't be built today'
By LEE BOYCE FOR THISISMONEY.CO.UK
PUBLISHED: 14:53, 9 December 2015 | UPDATED: 11:16, 10 December 2015
Britain's biggest - and most notorious - buy-to-let landlords have struck an agreement to sell their entire property empire for £250million to Arab investors.
Retired maths teachers Fergus and Judith Wilson are selling 900 properties in Kent to foreign investors, including both wealthy individuals and institutions.
The married couple, who are in their sixties, revealed intentions in July 2014 to sell their 1,000-strong property portfolio – and were expecting around £100million.
They sold roughly 100 two and three-bedroom houses for £25million to Chinese and Indian investors in the summer.
Mr Wilson told Emma Dunkley at the Financial Times that the remaining 900 properties will be sold to Arab investors in a deal he expects to complete before the first half of 2016.
He claims the properties, which will also come complete with tenants, are being sold at market value with a 'token' £1million premium.
The couple - who have two daughters and live in a £2million home near Maidstone, which doubles as an office - started their empire nearly 30 years ago in 1986, when house prices were low.
They gave up their teaching careers and were reportedly reliant on leverage to build their portfolio, snapping up only new-build homes and remortgaging them when their prices rose.
At one point, they were buying properties at the rate of one a day. Their empire now spreads across Ashford, Maidstone and Folkestone in Kent, towns within commuting distance to the capital.
Mr Wilson told The Telegraph of the couple's success: 'It was remarkably easy because no-one knew what they were doing. I didn’t care if I didn’t make a profit as long as I owned the properties. 'I knew they would rise in value eventually.'
The agreement marks the end of an era in the buy-to-let market for the couple, who have been known for controversies over the years, including sending 200 tenants on housing benefits eviction notices at the end of 2013.
Mr Wilson - who insisted only two years ago he had no plans to sell his portfolio - says house prices have been rising because of a shortage of properties on the market in the area.
The pensioner told the FT he was sorry to be giving up 'but common sense must prevail' and said at the age of 67, he was 'getting no younger'.
He added: 'I don't know what I'm going to do with myself… it's been a happy, happy ride, a hobby that's got out of control. Sometimes, years ago, you'd be buying a house for £35,000 and you'd be arguing over just £500.
'You couldn't do now what I did. It's partly because they will not lend at the higher levels of before. If I was starting again I'd be pushed to get a 75 per cent loan as a landlord.'
He had previously said the sale of his property empire would leave him 'broken-hearted'.
The Wilsons, who are also racehorse owners, were said to have been on the brink of financial ruin in 2008 after banks stopped lending in the credit crunch. However, they were saved when the Bank of England slashed interest rates and held them at a historic low.
In 2009, the couple were listed as the 34th richest couple in Britain by the Sunday Times Rich List.
Last April, then-22-stone Mr Wilson was fined more than £1,500 at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court after being convicted of attacking an estate agent following a dispute about a boiler.
A month later, he told his local paper he would consider standing as Kent’s police and crime commissioner if the embattled incumbent, Ann Barnes, quit. However, he never did.
In August this year, he informed Channel 4 News he intends to stand for Police and Crime Commissioner in Kent in 2016.
The sale of the Wilsons' portfolio comes after a series of legislation changes that will mean buy-to-let is no longer as lucrative.
The Government has just announced a huge rise in stamp duty on investment properties from April while the Bank of England is keeping a close eye on the industry.
The stamp duty changes would mean that if the pair snapped up a £200,000 home from April, they would pay £7,500 in stamp duty, rather than the £1,500 today.
Also, changes from April 2017 will see landlords earnings hit after a crack down on mortgage interest tax relief.
The amount landlords can claim as relief will be set at the basic rate of tax – currently 20 per cent.
This change will be phased in over a four-year period. Currently, landlords can claim tax relief on monthly interest repayments at the top level of tax they pay of up to 45 per cent.
Mortgage interest relief is estimated to cost £6.3billion a year, a Freedom for Information request estimates.
Some have stated that the changes could result in higher rents for tenants. Property expert Henry Pryor doesn't believe this will be the case.
He told This is Money: 'Higher stamp duty is unlikely to result in a rush to buy next year but the changes to tax for buy to let investors will have an impact over the next few years.
'However, suggesting that landlords are not already charging a full market rent is not credible even if some have not reviewed their tenants rent for a couple of years. Most tenants are already paying as much as they can afford so I don’t expect to see a general increase.'
Mr Wilson added that David Cameron must think 'we don't want Fergus Wilson replicated, or else it would all get out of control.' The couple will be keeping hold of ten homes.
He also told the FT: 'One of my tips to aspiring buy-to-let landlords: buy where it doesn't flood.'
According to latest Land Registry figures, the average property price in Kent has risen 8.2 per cent in the last 12 months to hit £221,312.