UK's biggest landlord sells half of property portfolio
A buy-to-let landlord with the largest portfolio in Britain has sold almost half his properties, according to the Financial Times.
Fergus Wilson and his wife Judith have reduced the number of their properties from 900 to around 400, declaring the age of the successful amateur landlord to be over.
The introduction of the buy-to-let landlord in the 1990s allowed the couple to expand the number of their properties, as high loan-to- value interest-only mortgages were easy to acquire.
Speaking to the FT, Mr Wilson, 68, highlighted tougher lending criteria as an obstacle to new landlords wishing to establish property empires.
Mr Wilson announced his plans to sell his £250m property portfolio in 2015, and said that he needed to repay about £45m to about 14 lenders. At the time he hoped to emerge with £200m in profit.
