Quids in: Inside Poundland founder Steve Smith’s £5.7m mansion
They say a pound doesn't stretch as far as it once did, but that doesn't seem to be the case for Poundland founder Steve Smith, who has put his Shropshire mansion up for sale for a cool £5.7m, having bought it for £2.2m.
Smith, who founded the discount bargain store in 1990 before selling it for £50m, bought the seven-bedroom home in 2004, but has since bought the land around it, turning it into a 28-acre estate.
The house, in "the pretty hamlet of Romsley" is described in its listing as "standing in a glorious parkland style setting", with "spectacular, far-reaching views over the … Severn Valley towards the Clee and Welsh Hills".
Having been "refurbished… by the most exacting of standards", it is a "fabulous home for family living and large scale entertaining".
The living area comprises 14,000 sq ft with five reception rooms, a "bespoke" kitchen/breakfast room, six bedroom suites, two gatehouse lodges, "extensive garaging" and 28.2 acres of gardens, grounds and paddocks.
Designed by Sir Betram Clough Williams-Ellis, the designer of "the Italianate village of Portmeirion" in Wales, the house features lots of walnut panelling, as well as a sweeping walnut staircase. And, as any discerning buyer would expect, it also features an indoor pool, which comes complete with two balletic statues.
With luxuries like that, why would Smith want to sell up? Apparently he and his wife are keen to downsize.
Although it sounds like even the ultra-rich sometimes find it tough to shift their homes: Smith has just slashed £750,000 off the price of the mansion. Bargain.