Oaklands House, Haywood Lane: The Owner’s Story

When a property comes to market at Offers Over £1.65m and the current owner paid £2.5 million for it three years ago, questions follow.

Partridge Homes sat down with the current owner of Oaklands House to put the full picture on record before we start the marketing. What follows is that conversation, covering the purchase, the vision, the planning, the financial position, and the decision to sell.

Why Sell at a Loss?

The owner’s answer to this is direct: his circumstances changed, and his health changed.

“When I purchased it in 2022, my circumstances were different and I had a very clear vision of what I wanted to create. I paid £2.5 million for the complete holding and have subsequently spent a significant amount of additional money progressing the designs, professional work and planning. If everything in my life had remained exactly as it was when I bought Oaklands, I would have liked to have seen the whole project through. But life doesn’t always work that way.”

He is clear that the financial loss is real and that he’s not pretending otherwise. He’s also clear that the decision to sell is not driven by any problem with the property itself.

“There isn’t a hidden reason behind the pricing. My decision to sell is based upon my own circumstances rather than there being something wrong with the house or land. In fact, since purchasing Oaklands I’ve spent a considerable amount of time and money progressing the opportunity. The next owner potentially acquires something with substantially more professional and planning work undertaken than existed when I originally bought it.”

What Did the £2.5 Million Purchase Actually Include?

This is one of the most important points to understand. The 2022 acquisition was not simply the purchase of the existing house.

“The overall holding comprised the residence, the paddock and approximately 12 further acres of land. Taken together, you’re looking at an overall holding of approximately 13 acres. That was one of the biggest attractions for me. You can change a house. You can replace kitchens and bathrooms. You can redesign interiors. What you cannot easily do is suddenly create another substantial area of adjoining countryside.”

The property is located on Haywood Lane, Baddesley Clinton, near Lapworth and Knowle, in the West Midlands, B93 0DG. For context, the average sold price for a detached property in Lapworth over the past year has been around £960,000, which places Oaklands at the premium end of the local market by some distance. The scale of the land holding is a large part of why.

Why Does £675,000 Appear on Some Property Searches?

The owner and Partridge Homes were both keen to address this directly, because it creates a misleading impression.

The £675,000 figure is the price at which the property last sold in June 2002. It has nothing to do with the current owner’s acquisition. He paid £2.5 million in 2022 for the complete holding, including the paddock and the approximately 12 acres of additional land. The Land Registry documentation relating to that 2022 transaction records the £2.5 million purchase price for the overall package.

The issue is with how information relating to the complete transaction has been reflected within data subsequently picked up by some property websites. The owner confirms that the matter is in the process of being addressed. Anyone seeing the £675,000 figure and concluding that the owner bought the entire estate for that amount and is now selling at Offers Over £1.65m is working from incorrect information.

The Original Vision

The owner didn’t buy Oaklands as a conventional home purchase. He bought it as a project, and his vision was specific.

“I wanted to create a genuine private English country residence. Not simply a huge new-build house sitting on a plot. I wanted all of the different elements to work together. The main residence. The surrounding land. The separate leisure facilities. The barn. The grounds. The privacy. Somewhere you could arrive and genuinely feel that you were coming into your own private estate.”

He describes the atmosphere he was aiming for as similar to that of the Netflix series The Gentlemen: a substantial private residence surrounded by land, with separate buildings, leisure facilities, and the kind of privacy that a large house on a conventional plot simply cannot offer.

“Watching The Gentlemen gives me that feeling of what I always thought Oaklands could ultimately become. It’s the atmosphere. The English countryside. A substantial private residence. Land surrounding you. Separate buildings. Privacy. Leisure facilities. Having everything you need within your own grounds.”

What Planning Has Been Obtained?

The owner has secured active planning permissions across three elements of the proposed estate:

• A replacement dwelling: a bespoke new-build main residence, designed around how the owner wanted to live rather than inheriting the choices of a previous occupant.

• A separate leisure facility: incorporating a swimming pool, gym, and spa-style areas, intended as a dedicated destination within the estate rather than facilities squeezed into the main house.

• An agricultural/hay and machinery storage barn: practical provision for managing the land, keeping equipment and machinery away from the main residence.

The owner has spent approximately £200,000 to £250,000 across architects, consultants, professional fees, designs, surveys, planning applications, and associated work to reach this point.

He is careful to draw a clear line between what he can explain and what a buyer’s own advisers should verify independently.

“Any serious purchaser should have their solicitor, architect and planning consultant review all relevant planning documentation, decision notices, conditions and requirements as part of their own due diligence. I’m the owner rather than somebody’s legal or planning adviser, so I wouldn’t attempt to advise a purchaser on those matters.”

Does the Next Owner Have to Build the Replacement Dwelling?

No. The owner makes this point clearly, and it’s worth understanding because it significantly broadens who Oaklands could suit.

One purchaser may want to pursue the full new-build project and create a completely bespoke residence from the ground up. Another may look at the existing Oaklands house, which already has a substantial footprint, and decide that a comprehensive refurbishment to a very high specification makes more sense. That would allow them to concentrate more of their investment on the leisure building, the grounds, and the wider estate.

“The next owner doesn’t have to share exactly the same vision that I had. They can create their own.”

The Auction Question

Some online searches return information connecting Oaklands to a previous auction listing, with a guide price of £1,800,000 appearing via an auction agent. The owner explains what happened.

He briefly considered the auction route and spoke to an agent, who listed the property quickly. He withdrew within approximately 24 hours.

“I didn’t feel that they properly understood the plot, the property or the wider opportunity. Oaklands isn’t simply a house that you put onto an auction website with a short description and hope somebody comes across it. There is a much bigger story. I realised very quickly that I didn’t think auction was the correct way to sell something this unique. I needed somebody who understood it, could market it properly and could actively put it in front of suitable clients.”

Why Partridge Homes?

The owner had known of Partridge Homes and Paul Partridge for a number of years before approaching them. Their position within sports and entertainment relocation was a specific part of the attraction.

Partridge Homes relocated all 19 Birmingham City FC signings during the 2025/26 season and works regularly with professional footballers, athletes, entertainers, and high-net-worth individuals relocating to the West Midlands. That existing client base matters for a property like Oaklands, which requires a buyer with a particular kind of vision rather than someone simply looking for a large finished house.

“As soon as Paul and I spoke, the conversation wasn’t simply about bedrooms, square footage and putting a listing on Rightmove. We discussed the project. We discussed the acreage. We discussed the planning. We discussed the vision. We discussed why I had bought it in the first place. And we discussed who the eventual buyer might actually be.”

The Sale Process

Oaklands is being marketed exclusively by Partridge Homes at Offers Over £1.65m, to serious buyers only. A structured marketing period gives prospective purchasers time to view the property, walk the land, consider the planning documentation, and take initial professional advice. After that period, serious best and final positions will be considered.

The owner is clear that Offers Over £1.65m is not an invitation for offers below that level.

“I’ve already taken a substantial financial loss into account when agreeing the pricing strategy. The purpose of marketing Oaklands at Offers Over £1.65m isn’t to encourage unrealistic offers below that level. It’s designed to create genuine interest from purchasers who understand the scale of the opportunity.”

Key Information at a Glance

What the Owner Would Say to the Next Buyer

“Finish it. But finish it your way. It doesn’t have to be exactly what I would have built. Use the work that’s already been undertaken, take your own professional advice and then put your own stamp on it. I bought Oaklands because of what I could see it becoming. My circumstances mean I’m not going to be the person who ultimately completes that vision. But somebody else can. My chapter with Oaklands is coming to an end. The next owner gets to write their own.”

To arrange a viewing of Oaklands House as a serious prospective purchaser, to discuss the planning documentation, or to find out more about the opportunity, contact the Partridge Homes team directly via the contact page. You can also register as a buyer to be kept informed of this and other significant properties across Birmingham and Solihull.

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