On the edge of a Buckinghamshire village, autumn leaves fall around a quaint Victorian cottage nestled among ancient trees, while horses graze in a nearby paddock. It is a quintessentially English scene, but one its owner hopes will appeal to liberal Americans desperate to escape Donald Trump’s America – for the cost of a $10 raffle ticket.
After struggling to sell the £850,000 ($1m) property he bought three years ago, Tristram Biggs decided to raffle his home this summer, marketing it to Americans who are increasingly uneasy about the political temperature at home.
“My cousin sent me an article from the New York Times about a house that was being raffled in Ireland and I thought I might be able to do a similar thing,” said Biggs, who is selling tickets for the property on the website Raffall.
“I’m aiming it mainly at Americans, because I think there are millions out there who are terrified about how the political situation is developing, and would be delighted to spend $10 on the ticket to what would effectively be a life raft Plan B.”
There may well be a market. The UK is experiencing an unprecedented rise in immigration from the US, as an increasing number of American citizens – including high-profile figures such as Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi – seek to move out of Trump’s orbit.
In the 12 months leading up to March this year, more than 6,000 US citizens applied to either become British subjects or to live and work in the country indefinitely – the highest number since comparable records began in 2004, according to data released by the UK’s Home Office. There was a pronounced surge in the first three months of Trump’s presidency, with 1,900 applications between January and March alone.
Self-deprecatingly describing himself as a “shit Hugh Grant”, Biggs is also offering an unusual sweetener to the raffle winner: “Englishness” training to any American or Canadian thinking about moving to the UK. “I’m thinking … how to make tea, how to stand on the right on escalators, how to correctly address a duchess,” he said.
So far reaction has been positive, although it has produced some kickback from Trump supporters, said Biggs. “No thanks!,” wrote one. “Love Trump. Keep the Islamic country of England!”
Biggs wants to move back to London following a break-up and fears a nearby planning application may affect his property’s value. But he is hopeful that Americans will be tempted by the five-bedroom house in south Buckinghamshire, which he said could bring in a monthly rental income of about $3,000. “In a difficult housing market, I’m trying a different way to solve my problem,” he said. “I’m tapping into a dream of a safe haven and a playful escape.”
Using the Instagram handle @winanenglishcottage to promote the raffle, Biggs has promoted the property’s proximity to London, Heathrow and Windsor, focusing less on the joys of Slough, which is about 2 miles away. He is also offering to take the lucky winner to watch the town’s non-league football club, whose chants include the peerless “We’re the biggest trading estate in Europe, you’ll never sing that.” “That one might take some explaining to Americans,” he said.
Under the terms of the raffle, which entrants must answer a question to enter, entrants must buy a £7.50 ticket with the winner drawn by the company on the 31st of December. But if fewer than 150,000 tickets are sold he will keep the house, with the winner getting a cash payment of 50% of the total ticket revenues, Raffal taking 10% and Biggs pocketing the rest.
It is, Raffall insists on its website, entirely above board – all competitions hosted on the site are legally classed as “prize competitions” and do not come under the Gambling Act 2005, it states. “It’s essentially a win, win, win situation,” said Biggs. “Hopefully the only people who don’t win here are the estate agents, and I’m not going to lose any sleep over that.”
