Tycoons set to sell 700-home estate

A former maths teacher turned property tycoon has said he feels "heartbroken" to sell his 700-home empire, but feels it is the right time to do so.

Fergus Wilson and his wife Judith gave up their jobs as teachers to concentrate on building a property portfolio in the 1990s. The couple, from Boughton Monchelsea, Kent, owned around 900 houses and flats at their peak.

Mr Wilson, 61, who has an estimated fortune of around £120 million, said that as the economic downturn shows signs of recovery, he feels it is the right time to sell.

He said: "Interest rates are very, very low but they will go up next year if there's a general election and every penny they go up it's the less to be spent on a house."

He added: "There's no point in squawking about it. You've got to do the best you can out of it. I'm looking in my crystal ball - and I've always been quite good at looking in my crystal ball - and I personally think this is the best thing to do.

"I'm heartbroken to be losing them. I absolutely love my houses, but you can't take them to the grave."

Mr Wilson said he has already had some interest from investors interested in buying all 700 properties together, including several professional footballers.

"That's our preference to start with," he said. "We have a moral obligation to protect our tenants. If a couple have been with us for four or five years why should they lose their home because you want to sell it?"

Mr Wilson said he did not know what he and his wife would do with their fortune once the houses are sold. "We will have to give it some thought as the only thing I know is property," he said.

On her website, Mrs Wilson puts the couple's success down to buying two and three bedroom new-build properties that were easy to rent out, mostly in towns such as Maidstone and Ashford situated along the M20 corridor.

House prices in the area have risen sharply following the recent launch of the high-speed rail service to London.