Dave Gilmour, member of the rock band Pink Floyd, has lived in Medina House in Hove, East Sussex, with his wife Polly Samson for years but now wants to sell the property
Pink Floyd legend Dave Gilmour is trying to sell a £10million mansion which he doesn’t actually legally own, according to reports.
The musician has lived in six-bedroom Medina House in Hove, East Sussex, with his wife Polly Samson for years but it is understood he has only recently discovered a legal oversight means it is actually owned by the Crown.
Now, the 78-year-old rockstar is believed to be suing the government to correct the mistake so that he can finally sell Medina House, which overlooks the sea in the tranquil resort.
Gilmour originally bought the house, a converted women’s public baths, in 2011 through his former company Hoveco Ltd, of which he was the sole director. In 2014, the firm was dissolved – but due to an oversight ownership wasn’t transferred to him. Under UK law unless assets of a business are transferred before a company is dissolved, its assets automatically become “bono vacantia” (vacant goods) and belong to the Crown instead.
Gilmour, who has lived in the property with Samson, 62, for years, says the house was not put into his name because of an inadvertent admin error – and he has now turned to the High Court in London where he is suing the Attorney General. He reportedly is asking for a court order transferring the house into his name so he can finally sell it.
Nick Brett, Partner at Brett Wilson LLP told MailOnline: “Imagine thinking you own a house for over a decade, particularly one worth £10-15 million, but then when you want to sell it, you discover you can’t because in fact technically legal ownership may have passed to the State. It must have come as a huge shock when he found out. It’s an extraordinary situation that is also incredibly rare.”
The Gilmours put Medina on the market for £15 million in 2022 but later reduced the price to £10 million, it is said. However, the legal anomaly came to light, meaning it could not be sold at any price until that issue was settled.
Speaking about the Hove home last year, Samson said: “It is a beauty, and sad for us that it took so long and was then completed during the pandemic. Our children were still children and living at home when we first bought – and thought we could save the building.
“Now they’ve flown, so Medina House never got the chance to become our family home. We have a one-bedroom flat [also in Hove], which is enough.”
