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A millionaire property tycoon who owns HMOs around Britain has been targeted by vandals.
Liv Cooke, 26, has amassed a £10million fortune by converting run-down properties into HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation) for up to five people.
She claims to have housed nearly 1,000 ‘vulnerable women’ fleeing domestic violence in her HMOs in just two years.
But one of the properties, in Oldham, Greater Manchester, has recently been vandalised, with perpetrators twice daubing the words ‘No HMO’ over its front door and window.
The first incident was reported on September 4. Just weeks later it was vandalised again, alongside a van damaged outside the property.
It happened days after Reform UK Councillor Lewis Quigg posted details of the HMO application on Facebook, having ‘received a recent communication from residents’.
Locals expressed their concerns over the site potentially being used to house asylum seekers and migrants in an area they claim already has a large number of HMOs.
The tycoon, who posts about her lavish lifestyle including Lamborghinis and home swimming pools, hit back on her Instagram page, saying: ‘We had vulnerable people ready to move in, women who needed to escape dangerous situations.
Liv Cooke, a millionaire property tycoon who owns HMOs around Britain, has been targeted by vandals daubing the words ‘No HMO’ in large grey letters over its front door and window
The businesswoman, pictured in an Instagram post, has amassed a £10m fortune by converting run-down properties into HMOs for up to five people
‘When the property was vandalised, it delayed us by weeks. Delays in which those women potentially had to stay somewhere unsafe.’
Ms Cooke, who was previously a freestyle footballer, has reported the incidents to the police.
She has also hit out at Mr Quigg and said his actions risked escalating tensions around the site after it had been targeted.
Mr Quigg responded by saying he had been contacted by residents with concerns about the property who say ‘it is not right for the area’.
He said he made it clear to Ms Cooke’s development company he would be sharing correspondence publicly.
The councillor added: ‘They didn’t know who was moving into the property and they had no idea what was it was going to be used for.
‘It could be anyone living there. People have concerns over HMO’s due to crime and antisocial behaviour.
Ms Cooke has amassed a £10million fortune by converting run-down properties into HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation) for up to five people.
The first incident was reported on September 4, with more vandalism spotted to the house, including to the door, just over a month later as well as a van damaged outside the property
Grey paint applied to a board outside one of Ms Cooke’s HMOs. The businesswoman, who was previously a freestyle footballer, has reported the incidents to the police
‘I was just trying to establish the facts.’
The property has now been fully renovated with new residents expected to move in within days.
Ms Cooke has also hosted Match of the Day X and become a UEFA ambassador and Parliamentary Rising Star.
A representative for Ms Cooke said the councillor’s comments risked escalating tensions around a site that had been previously targeted.
Oldham Council declined to comment.