A DAD who bought the UK’s “most expensive bungalow” for £13.5million says it has turned into a “death trap”.
Tom Glanfield, 44, bought the house on Millionaire’s Row in Sandbanks, Dorset last month.
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The entrepreneur used to sleep rough on his office floor and wash in a toilet cubicle before building a business empire employing 450 people.
His “dream” was to raise his family in the £13.5million beachside bungalow.
But he was devastated when he realised that the house was a “death trap” with a leaking roof, mould, mildew and crumbling flood defences.
The dad-of-two said: “Despite the property appearing in reasonable shape from a distance, it was clear on inspection that years of exposure had taken its toll.
“Although it clearly hasn’t been updated for some time, unfortunately, the problems run much deeper.
“The current house has nothing in the way of insulation and relies on obscene amounts of oil to heat it.
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“Some people have said it would be a shame to replace the property, but they probably haven’t inspected it too closely.”
Visitors to the property are confronted with a cracked driveway, rickety five-bar gate and a tumbledown garage – as well as a “death trap” concrete swimming pool.
The tidal wall protecting the home has crumbled, leaving Tom’s family at risk from storm surges.
Tom said: “As with all seafront properties, years of exposure has taken a huge toll.
“Furthermore, the existing property is at increased risk from tidal storm surges.
“As a long-term resident of Poole, I certainly do not want to build anything that detracts from the natural beauty of the area, or that negatively impacts any of my friends and neighbours.
“Unfortunately, the current house is extremely inefficient and does not meet modern building standards.
He added: “My dream is to build a permanent family home that will stand the test of time, using sustainable building methods, locally sourced materials, and calling on local tradesmen to carry out the building work.
“Importantly, any property here needs to be futureproofed against flooding too.
“Of course, I’ll be led by the council’s requirements and expertise.
“The most important thing to me is to respect and protect the natural surroundings of the property, including the stunning mature trees.”
Millionaire’s Row has the most expensive floor space in the world, with Tom’s 2,909 sqft property costing £4,640 per sqft – more than prime real estate in New York, London or Hong Kong.
Tom bought the bungalow after borrowing £9,000 on credit cards to start a recruitment business in his friend’s attic.
He slept rough on the office floor and washed in a toilet cubicle to save money.
The entrepreneur said: “I realised I needed to give the impression that my company was well established, so I began playing a cassette recorder of loud office noise on loop in the background.
“I renamed my company LHi Group to make it sound more familiar and perhaps give the illusion that it was larger than it actually was.”
The business now had 450 employees across the UK, Europe and the US.
It comes after an entrepreneur who grew up in a council house and left school at 14 revealed he’s selling his Millionaire’s Row home for £15million.
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