Supercar-loving bungalow billionaire 'is bankrupt owing £725million'

08 December 2023 , 19:14

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Bob Bull recently ranked 88th in the Sunday Times Rich List (Image: INSTAGRAM)

A British 'billionaire' who claimed to be one of the UK's richest people after making a fortune by transforming static caravan parks into bungalow villages has been declared bankrupt.

Entrepreneur Bob Bull had been living a life of unadulterated luxury just six months ago and was estimated to be worth close to £2billion when he showed off his £10million mansion with a bowling alley and a £4million collection of 12 supercars. But he is now reportedly facing debts totalling £725million.

The 46-year-old recently ranked 88th in the Sunday Times Rich List, but lawyers in a bankruptcy petition against Mr Bull said his "claims to be very wealthy were wrong", according to Bloomberg. The huge debt follows the collapse of his company RoyaleLife, and is made up of 22 loan agreements for which the businessman made personal guarantees to a number of lenders. The company had been valued at £4billion.

Supercar-loving bungalow billionaire Bob Bull 'is bankrupt owing £725million' (LINKEDIN)

Mr Bull, who has been twice married and now lives with his fiancée Sara Nilsen, 30, near Southampton, hopes to enter an arrangement to pay off his debts at just 0.25 per cent, court papers show. However, Ben Channer, a lawyer acting on behalf of Mr Bull said: "It is not a great return to the creditors, but it is a return."

The businessman has faced bankruptcy before, when in 2016, he battled back to the top after owing £3.5million to creditors and spiralling into "a nasty depression" which left him unable to work for three months. According to Companies House, Mr Bull holds roles at 34 separate firms that are in administration.

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And in September, it was revealed that Mr Bull was in a legal dispute for more than £32million of unpaid debts, after he was sued by holiday park boss Tony Barney, 59, who claimed Mr Bull owes two of his caravan companies – Nottingham-based Baslow Parks and Baslow Holdings Developments – the huge sum.

According to The Times, Mr Bull said this year that "winding-up orders based on false claims and unfounded information" had been served on his business interests, while the new legal claim launched by fellow entrepreneur Mr Barney, who owns a string of residential and lodge parks ranging from Yorkshire to Norfolk, is said to be worth £125million.

Bob Bull and his fiancée Sara Nilsen had a life of luxury (INSTAGRAM)

Mr Bull had previously agreed a "deed of settlement and release" on two companies in March, with the first payment due on April 14 of £1.4million. But he made no payment, High Court papers show, meaning the whole £32,290,532 sum was owed. Mr Bull disputed the claim and says Mr Barney breached their agreement by failing to keep its terms confidential.

He argued Mr Barney had made "a clear and unequivocal promise" that the deed to pay money would not be enforced while Time GB Group was going into administration. Court documents show a number of insolvency claims have been filed against companies run by Mr Bull in recent months. One of his companies, Time GB Group, is appointing administrators with a court hearing due for September 29 next year. He was declared bankrupt by a court on December 1.

Mr Bull was born into a successful family, with his grandfather having founded a caravan park business and talking about his earlier financial woes, he said his father carried on the success but "lost everything in the 1990s banking crisis". The entrepreneur then rebuilt the business, eventually turning it into the UK's second-biggest caravan group.

But that business also encountered troubles and in 2016 and he was declared bankrupt. He explained that his situation became so bad seven years ago that he could not afford the price of a takeaway for his children and had to borrow money for a KFC from his son Bobby, 12. He said: "I put my card in and it didn't work. The next card didn't work either. I was pushing my youngest, Jack, in the pram. I put my food back and I said to my son Bobby, "Have you got any money?"

"I still get emotional about it now. The woman in the bank cut my cards up in front of me. I felt like a piece of s**t. That was my lowest day, and I hated it."

Mr Bull said he spotted a gap in the housing market which led to him building bungalow villages for people who wanted to sell their homes and downsize. He would buy the properties at market value and sell the customers a factory-prefabricated bungalow in a new community, each with a drive, a garden and a shed. This allowed him to turn around his fortunes and his company, which employed 2,000 workers, was said to be worth £4billion.

The property, where he lives with Ms Nilsen keep two dogs, a horse and a ferret, has its own three-lane bowling alley and six double garages. It was reported last month that Mr Bull also has a butler who previously worked for the First Sea Lord, the Royal Navy chief of staff. The pair, who met at a bar in Mayfair in 2019 after Mr Bull had been to see bankers, also share a £1million house together in Kristiansund, her hometown in Norway.

Paul Donald