A mansion for just pounds 25; PROPERTY: Businessman launches: competition to sell his pounds 3.2 million house.

Byline: Graeme Brown 

A MIDLAND businessman has decided to fight back against depressed property prices by launching a competition to win his pounds 3.2 million rural house.

Malcolm Cox, who owns Victorian street-lighting firm Town and Country Lighting, is selling tickets for pounds 25 for a chance to own his country mansion at Alcester Heath, near Stratford.

Mr Cox first put the house on the market in October 2007 but the collapse of the property market meant he faced slashing the fee or putting off a move. His wife Maxine came up with the idea for a competition. Mr Cox said: "We had a choice - we could either agree to drop the price drastically, not move at all, or do something different.

"The house was originally on the market in October 2007 and at that point, prices started to drop. Everyone said they would spring back but they didn't and I didn't want to lose pounds 500,000."

The Coxes built the six-bedroom mansion three years ago. It contains four reception rooms, a vaulted central hall, exposed oak timbering, a triple garage with living space and a building with office and workshop.

The couple hope to raise pounds 3.75 million by selling 150,000 tickets at pounds 25 each, with the winner being decided through a spot-the-ball-style competition.

The family will only sell the house if pounds 3.75 millio is raised, paying the original valuation of pounds 3.2 million, the pounds 130,000 stamp duty on the property, administration and legal costs and a pounds 100,000 contribution to four charities. If the family fails to reach its target, the money raised will become the prize, after costs and charitable donations are taken out. A website has been set up and translated into Russian, Chinese, Japanese, German, French, Italian and Spanish, to open the competition up to a worldwide audience.

Mr Cox said he hoped to raise money for the future of his family, including daughter Eve and son Harry, through the competition.

CAPTION(S):

Prize property: Malcolm and Maxine Cox are selling their pounds 3.2m mansion in a competition after it stayed on the market for almost two years.