A man in the United Kingdom has gone viral after offering £225,000 (over ₦400 million) to purchase a church in his hometown in a bid to prevent it from being converted into residential apartments.
The story gained attention on X after it was shared by property investor Samuel Leeds, who said he decided to intervene when he discovered the church building was about to be sold to property developers.
Man offers to buy church
According to Leeds, the building — a Methodist Church property — was at risk of being closed and converted into flats, a trend he said has become increasingly common across the UK.
He explained that his intention is to preserve the building’s original purpose as a place of worship and community support.
Leeds also revealed that if the purchase goes through, he plans to allow a congregation to use the church rent-free, provided they are committed to genuine worship and community service.
His statement
Sharing his motivation online, he wrote:
“I’m buying a church.
I’ve made a cash offer of £225,000 to purchase this church, which was about to close and be sold off to developers.
I’m fed up with driving past all these churches in the UK that used to thrive, support the community, and feed the homeless.
Now just look at these beautiful church buildings — so many are boarded up, closed down, with developers queueing up to profit from converting them into flats.
I simply can’t accept that a building built to glorify Jesus for generations can be turned into something solely for profit.
So I’ve placed an offer on a church in my hometown.
My plan is to buy it and offer it completely free of charge, with zero rent, to a church willing to worship Jesus here and serve others.
What do you think of this idea?”
The post has since attracted widespread reactions online, with many praising the gesture while others debated the future of historic church buildings and their role in modern communities.
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