Somewhere in the South East Of England today

THE Irish government was preparing Sunday to seize ownership of a massive, 103-room mansion in southeastern England after the homeowner defaulted on a £50 million ($66.2 million) mortgage.

When Updown Court in Windlesham, Surrey, was put on the market for £70 million ($92million) six years ago, its owner, Leslie Allen-Vercoe, described it as the most expensive house in Britain.

However, with no buyer found for the mansion, Ireland's National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) was preparing to reappoint receivers to take control of the estate.

The move came after Allen-Vercoe, 67, defaulted on his £50 million ($66.2 million) mortgage. The loan is understood to have been extended by the bank Irish Nationwide, which collapsed and saw many of its loans transferred to the Irish government.

Set in 11 acres (4.5 hectares) of gardens and 46 acres (18.6 hectares) of woodland, it has 24 en-suite bedrooms, five swimming pools, stables, tennis and squash courts, a bowling alley and garage space for eight cars.

Allen-Vercoe put the house on the market in 2005, hoping to sell it in six months. However, with no buyer found, the costs of maintaining the house grew to £1.5 million ($1.99 million) per year.

Speaking over the weekend, Allen-Vercoe said he had no knowledge that the house was about to be taken into receivership.

"It's news to me. I don't see any reason why they would want to do that. We are talking to three possible buyers, and it would be a pointless exercise from NAMA's point of view," he said.

i'm glad to see  like me , you buy the times anaglogs....the only paper worth reading....