BOB Bull had it all – with a personal fortune of £1.9billion.
In the spring of last year, Britain’s biggest bungalow builder joined the Times Rich List as the 88th richest person in the UK.
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Bob Bull and his wife Sara Nilsen at their home last year with their fleet of supercars Credit: Arthur Edwards / The Sun
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Bob joined the rich list last year with a net worth of £1.9billion but is now battling bankruptcyCredit: Arthur Edwards / The Sun
To mark the milestone, Bob – who went bankrupt just seven years ago and is “too poor to afford KFC” – invited The Sun to spend the day at his £10m mansion, which features three lanes and a 10-pin bowling alley.
He and his partner Sara posed alongside a £4m collection of 12 supercars, including five Rollers, three Lamborghinis and a 211mph Ferrari.
Just nine months later the cars have been repossessed, the house near Southampton is up for sale and even his £15,000 Hublot Ferrari Grand Prix watch has been returned.
Because, at the end of last year, it went bankrupt again – this time for £725m.
In an exclusive interview, Bob (46) reveals for the first time how he was a victim of an organized crime network – linked, he believes, to the notorious Kinahan drug cartel.
He, his family and his staff say they have been the victims of beatings, threats of kidnapping and fraud.
Bob and Sara – now his wife – were attacked and beaten in a bar near Manchester.
The robber knocked petite Sarah unconscious before stealing the keys to Bob’s £450,000 Rolls-Royce.
The following month, a court declared him bankrupt, claiming he owed three quarters of a billion pounds.
Now Bob Bull is angry and fighting back.
We bought a £95k bungalow, gutted it and made it our dream home in just 5 months – we also made a whopping £40k
He commissioned a team of ex-Scotland Yard detectives to compile a dossier on his nightmare seen by the Sun.
They concluded that “Mr Bull was the victim of a conspiracy to defraud him to destroy his £4billion caravan, bungalow and holiday park business”.
It is alleged that the perpetrators took advantage of £46 million and that constant threats to his family led to the death of his father.
Speaking to The Sun on the 35th floor of London’s Shard skyscraper, Bob reveals he is fighting to have bankruptcy overturned and has secured more than £1 billion in funding to get the business back on its feet.
He said, “If I don’t file for bankruptcy, I’m done.
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The multi-millionaire is Britain’s biggest bungalow builder Credit: Arthur Edwards / The Sun
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Bob says Sara passed out in a horrific attack Credit: Instagram
“I would rather jump out of that window than let that happen because it’s dishonoring my father’s grave, dishonoring my whole beautiful family.
“My wife was punching and kicking out of nowhere.
“You might look at her and say she’s a beauty queen, but inside she’s a more beautiful person than you could ever imagine.
“She watched the cars disappear from the driveway and didn’t say anything.
“They were confiscated because criminals came for my companies.
“The moment you go bankrupt, all your financial contracts are dead.
A guy came in and walked straight up. He said some things to my wife that she shouldn’t say about his body parts
Bob in a horror attack
“If the judge who heard the bankruptcy had known that I was a victim of crime, I think the bankruptcy would have been annulled.
“Those people pushed me to the limits of my life and my wife says ‘I’m here for you.’
“The truth shames the devil. There is no secret stash of money, Sara and my son paid for my train ticket to meet you today.”
Bob’s problems began in the autumn of 2022 – six months before he was listed on the rich list – when he tried to refinance his Royal Life company, which was said to be worth £4bn.
But a last-minute £2.8bn finance package – the biggest property deal in Europe – collapsed after the lender suddenly pulled out.
Bull says that in desperation and under duress after threats to hit the business with a winding-up order, he borrowed £3m from a millionaire who turned out to be a member of an organized crime group rumored to be linked to the Irish Kinahan crime family.
Heaven to hell
The £3 million had to be repaid within four weeks, plus penalty interest of £3 million interest PER MONTH.
This quickly turned into a demand for a staggering £42 million – backed up, Bob claims, by intimidation and threats of kidnapping.
A report prepared by an ex-Met police team stated that Bob was deliberately attacked with the intention of destroying him and taking control of his business assets.
It continues: “These groups are feared for using extreme violence, including murder, against rivals.
“In Mr. Bull’s case they wasted no time in using the Irish cartel’s threat of violence as a means of reinforcing unjustified demands, as well as issuing their own threats of violence and kidnapping…”
If I don’t file for bankruptcy, I’m done. I’d rather jump out that window than let that happen because it’s desecrating my dad’s grave
Bob Bull
Bob says he signed over millions of pounds worth of assets in his four main businesses after criminals threatened to kidnap his eight-year-old son.
By surrendering the collateral, known as promissory notes, his other lenders lost confidence and took his land and property into receivership.
The detectives’ report said Bob handed over cash and securities totaling £39m “pursuant to a conspiracy to defraud and blackmail”.
It continued: “Mr Bull’s own father suffered a fatal heart attack in the summer of 2023 as a result of these threats.”
As the threats continued, Bob hired full-time security at his home and offices in Hampshire.
But that didn’t stop a man who arrived with a Chechen bruise and warned: “If I don’t get my money, I’m going to bring the army in here with machines and bulldozers and level this place with Bob inside.”
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Bob has his own bowling alley in his houseCredit: Arthur Edwards / The Sun
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He says Sara went through hell Credit: Arthur Edwards / The Sun
Bull considered moving to the Manchester area where he grew up to escape the nightmare.
Last November he took his new bride to the North West to check out the area, but during a night out at the Bubble Room bar in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, Bob and his wife Sara were attacked.
He says: “A guy came in and came straight up. He told her some things she shouldn’t say about his body parts and her mouth.
“She turned him away. He hit her, she fell to the floor and was unconscious for about ten seconds.
“I attacked him and it was a mess. We ended up going outside and then security separated us.
“My wife regained consciousness and saw the guy hitting me. There was blood everywhere. My nose was stuck all over my face.
“When he left, he took my coat and car keys. Why did he do that?”
Horror attack
Bob found out the next day when the recovery mechanic discovered that the loaded Land Rover Defender had become stuck in Bull’s black Rolls Royce Cullinan where he had left it the night before in the parking lot of the Marriott Hotel in Hale.
The heavyweights told the stunned mechanic that they owed him £10 million and if Bob wasn’t there in 30 minutes they would smash the car to bits.
They gave the mechanic a number for Bob to call – it was one of the people he claims is interfering with his business.
The policemen arrived at the scene, warned the gang, told them to leave and issued a ticket.
Bob says, “I never owed him ten million. We borrowed £3 million and then they made a killing through my business.
“I’ve lost count of the times I’ve sat and cried on the phone to the police, waiting in the house for them to come and they never showed up.”
Then, last December, Bull was declared bankrupt for £725m at a hearing at Southampton District Court.
He says he worked on an IVA – Individual Voluntary Arrangement – to keep his job while he sorted out his finances.
They believe in me and the business and are convinced that I have the key to the future success of the bungalow market
Bob on his financial backers
There is no suggestion that the creditors who filed for bankruptcy had any knowledge of or were involved in any crime.
At the end of last month, Bob was back in Manchester fighting to have the bankruptcy overturned so he could save the business and save 2,000 jobs.
Bob told The Sun: “I now have over a billion pounds worth of private capital to rebuild Royale Life and repair all the damage these individuals have done.
“Finally people are listening to me instead of them.
“My supporters support my cash flow because they know the problems were not caused by my fault.
“They believe in me and the business and are convinced that I hold the key to the future success of the bungalow market.”
Meanwhile, a 90-page detective file was handed over to Hampshire Constabulary who spoke to Bob Bull for almost ten hours about his allegations.
Hampshire Constabulary said: “Our investigation is ongoing.”
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The couple in happier times Credit: Arthur Edwards / The Sun
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