£2 raffle to win a Lancashire manor house raises £650,000

A unique move to raffle off a luxury Lune Valley house for just £2 has raised £648,000.
Dunstan Low in front of the house in MellingDunstan Low in front of the house in Melling
Dunstan Low in front of the house in Melling

Dunstan Low, the owner of Melling Manor in Melling, said he had been overwhelmed by the response since he announced the move in February. Mr Low bought the Grade II Listed six bedroom manor house in 2011 and set about returning it to its former glory in a year long refurbishment project.

But the father-of-two said that when his business began to slow down, he struggled to pay the mortgage, and the property became a hot potato.

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He said he has since tried but failed to sell the house using traditional methods, and decided to launch the competition online, which could net someone the property – valued at £845,000 – for just £2.

He said: “After the initial boom, Paypal got itchy feet with regards international legalities so they prevented international payments. Eventually we sorted that and we came to the agreement that it would only run for UK entrants only.

“Alot of people all over the world have been trying to enter but unfortunately they can’t - in total we’ve reached 166 countries.”

He added: “I got a letter from a charity called the National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS), which actually holds the title of Lord and Lady Melling. Basically we’re going to give them a £5,000 donation, and they will donate the title of Lord and Lady Melling to the competition winner for the first 12 months.”

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