“Another Brick in the Wall” – Pink Floyd Guitarist’s Mansion Sale Hits Ownership Snag

Imagine this: you’ve just agreed the sale of your luxurious mansion, valued between £10-15 million, only to receive a call from your solicitor informing you that you do not actually own it! Well, this is the startling reality for Pink Floyd’s legendary guitarist, Dave Gilmour.

It is reported that Mr and Mrs Gilmour have lived in their current home for years, but the property was purchased through Mr Gilmour’s company, Hoveco Limited. Mr Gilmour was sole director of that company, which was dissolved in 2014. Due to what appears to be an oversight, the property was not transferred by the company to the Gilmours before it was dissolved. Property, cash or other assets owned by a company at the time it is dissolved automatically pass to the Crown and become a “bona vacantia” asset. 

Normally an asset will either be disclaimed, or sold for full market value by the Treasury. The Gilmours now have two options; (i) buy the asset back from the Crown at the open market value (although the Crown is under no obligation to sell it if they consider selling it on the open market would result in a better return); or (ii) restore Hoveco Limited to enable them to either sell the property in the company name, or transfer it to themselves in order to conclude the sale. 

Any sale will be delayed while the position is rectified. The Gilmour’s solicitor will need to liaise with the the Bona Vacantia division (BVD) of the Government Legal Department, and will also need to consider tax consequences if the property is transferred from company to individuals to facilitate the sale.  All very time consuming and costly.

While this situation is rare, it goes to show how important it is to ensure that ownership details in your property registers are kept up-to-date when ownerships change, even if not by a straight sale or transfer.  A misspelling of a name, a property remaining in a maiden name after someone marries, or a change of trustees all risk delaying any future transactions while an application is made to the Land Registry to update it. 

Likewise, the title register will show the registered proprietor’s (i.e. owner of the legal title) address for service. This is the address that the Land Registry, or anyone else with an interest in the property, will write to if it needs to contact you. For example, to check if an application made in relation to the property is agreed. It is also used by the Land Registry to notify owners of a potentially fraudulent transaction.

If your property is registered, you can easily obtain a copy of your title register from the Land Registry website.  There is a small fee payable to the Land Registry for this service.  If the registered proprietor details are incorrect and you require assistance in updating them, then please do not hesitate to contact BHW on 0116 289 7000 or email info@bhwsolicitors.com who will be pleased to assist.