Hillary and Franco McManus have put their £5 million Omaze house in Hackney up for sale just two months after winning it. The four-bedroom home in Victoria Park village was advertised in October with a guide price of £5 million, turning a prize that arrived mortgage-free into a property now back on the market.
Hillary McManus bought her entry ticket for £20, and the draw delivered far more than a house. The couple also received £250,000 in cash, while stamp duty and legal costs were covered, giving them a prize package that instantly looked life-changing on paper and, for a time, seemed like it might even become a forever home.
That was the pitch behind Omaze’s most valuable property ever, won in August 2024. The house came with a gym, sauna and games room, and Knight Frank described it as a newly developed freehold warehouse of nearly 4,700 square feet spread across four floors. Inside, it has four bedrooms, four bathrooms, three reception rooms and a ground-floor reception area with an 8.5-meter-high ceiling.
For a newly married couple, the win landed at exactly the sort of moment that invites big plans. Hillary said the prize felt like “the best wedding present ever,” after she and her husband had only recently tied the knot. She also said the cash would give them options, and that she loved her job in Nottinghamshire and being close to her family, which made the decision about the house less than straightforward.
But the quick decision to list the property tells a different story from the one that came with the prize draw photographs. The house was described as a dream gift, yet it was back on the market in October, and later moved through multiple estate agents before eventually selling. What has not been made public is the price the McManuses actually achieved, which leaves the biggest question of all unanswered: how much of the £5 million headline value they were able to turn into cash.
