A BBC Panorama investigation has uncovered property sales worth more than £120m linked to a successful developer and a charity he helped set up. The charity, My Space Housing Solutions, has claimed tens of millions of pounds of public money to house vulnerable people, but former employees say it was too focused on expansion and failed to support some tenants.
One property deal saw a block of flats in Goole, East Yorkshire, purchased by Enabling Homes, owned by Paul O'Rourke, for £800,000. On the same day, 10 flats were sold to an investment company for nearly £1.6m, almost doubling in value in less than 24 hours. The price leap was linked to My Space signing a 20-year lease for the flats, guaranteeing taxpayer-funded rent payments.
My Space supports vulnerable adults and can claim higher housing benefit for specialist accommodation, known as exempt accommodation. The sector has grown substantially, with accusations of exploitation. Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis, called it 'a really Wild West system where the winners are the people creaming off very large profits'.
One former employee said the charity was 'churning' through tenants 'as if they were cans of tuna, not people'. My Space denied this, stating it only took on properties where there was demand and its objective was to house and support vulnerable adults.
Land Registry records show that companies linked to Paul O'Rourke have bought and sold more than 100 properties that ended up being leased by My Space, selling for more than £120m - about £63m more than he paid. Mr O'Rourke said the figure was misleading as it did not include business costs or financial support he offered the charity.
