A son locked in a bitter tug of war over a £2.5m mansion with his multi-millionaire father has told how he has been driven to financial ruin and despair by the ‘family at war’ feud.
Thomas Parker-Bowyer said his life had been put on hold after being sued by his ‘towel tycoon’ father Michael who claims he has control over the disputed house.
He has had to borrow £200,000, sell his home and car to take on his father who was once involved in Britain’s most toxic divorce spending close to £3m on legal fees.
The dispute began in 2019 when Michael Parker ran into financial problems – a year after his expensive divorce – and faced having his stunning mansion re-possessed for failing to keep up payments on a £1.4m mortgage.
Thomas says he offered to help and took out a mortgage of £1.2m and pumped in £200,000 of his own savings to stop his father from losing the house.
Thomas Parker-Bowyer (pictured) claims he’s been driven to financial ruin after being sued by his ‘towel tycoon’ father Michael who claims he has control over the disputed house
Towel tycoon Michael Parker (pictured) is battling his son Thomas Parker-Bowyer, 30, in the High Court over a seven-bedroom mansion
The dispute has caused Michael Parker (centre) with his sons Eddie (left) and Thomas (right) to fall out
Thomas said other members of the family had recently splashed out on Aston Martins. Pictured: His father Michael Parker’s new car
The property title deeds were legally transferred into Thomas’s name as the new owner.
But when he said he wanted to sell the house his father insisted that he still had rights to live there.
Thomas, 32, is now being sued in the High Court by his father who insists a ‘constructive trust’ was created so that he could continue to live in the house set in two acres of land in the upmarket village of Bourne End in Buckinghamshire.
The ranch style home boasts seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a cinema and a swimming pool with an adjustable floor height.
The house is currently on the market for £2.5m.
Speaking exclusively to Mail Online Thomas revealed the relationship with his 62-year-old father is so bad that they no longer speak and will only see each other when they face off against each other later this year in court for a three day hearing to determine ownership.
Thomas’s brother Eddie Parker posing with his new lime green Aston Martin
The £2.65million ranch-style home is situated in the Buckinghamshire village of Bourne End. The mansion is in two acres of land and has eight bathrooms, a cinema and a swimming pool with adjustable floor height, plus a gym and a bar
Towel tycoon Michael Parker (pictured) is battling his son Thomas Parker-Bowyer
Son Thomas Parker-Bowyer (pictured) arriving at the High Court with his wife Kimberley. Michael Parker signed the house over to his son in 2019. However, they are now locked in a court battle because Thomas Parker-Bowyer wants to sell the house
Thomas said: ‘I never wanted any of this, but the house is rightfully mine. I have the title deeds and it is registered in my name.
‘My father has no legal right to the house.
‘I no longer have a relationship with my father.’
The court battle will not be the first time Michael Parker has been involved in expensive litigation.
Four years ago he hit the headlines after racking the huge legal bills in a divorce from his second wife Barbara as they fought over ownership of a company they ran supplying towels and bathrobes to top hotels and spas in the UK and Europe.
The warring couple were slammed by a judge for spending almost half their £6.6m fortune on lawyers.
Thomas, who having sold his home to fund the legal fight and now lives with his in-laws, said he paid off the mortgage with the understanding the house would be his.
The gate of the mansion, dubbed ‘The House’
Thomas said: ‘I never wanted any of this, but the house is rightfully mine. I have the title deeds and it is registered in my name’
The battle between the father and son has become so acrimonious that Thomas said he had to report his father to the police. Pictured: Thomas inside the mansion
He denies any knowledge of a trust that allows his father to live as long as wants, and says there is no documents to support the the claim.
He said the dispute has become so acrimonious that he had to report his father to the police.
‘He was coming round to our house and peering in through the windows,’ said Thomas.
‘I had to call the police and he has been told to stay away from us.
‘This has taken over my life. I had to take out a second mortgage to pay the legal bills and my repayments are now £11,000 a month.
‘I am being driven into financial ruin and although the house is up for sale, I wonder who will want to buy it when they know there is a legal fight going on.’
He added: ‘We had a fallout over how the businesses we ran should proceed and it just got worse from there.’
Thomas has said he is being ‘driven to financial ruin’ due to the £11,000 mortgage payments. Pictured: Thomas outside the mansion
The fallout between the family members seems to have started due to dispute over their business. Pictured: Thomas inside the mansion’s kitchen
To make matters worse Thomas said he was a shareholder in a private medical practice that was run as family business.
He said the company Smart Medical Clinics – which provided private GP and dental appointments at four venues in London – was recently sold to BUPA for an undisclosed sum.
While other shareholders received a payout Thomas said he has yet to be paid by his father.
He said other members of the family had recently splashed out on Aston Martins.
He said:’ They have all bought new cars, and I have had to sell mine. My house in Ascot was sold and I am now living with my in laws.
‘Obviously I hope that the High Court will side with me as I have all the documents to prove I am the owner of the house.
‘I think my father likes legal action. There is a joke someone said that he is at the High Court so often he has his own parking space.’
Michael Parker was at the centre of what was dubbed Britain’s messiest divorce when he split from his second wife Barbara.
A judge said Barbara Cooke, 58, and her husband had ‘completely lost touch with reality’ as they slugged it out over an estimated £6.6million fortune.
Mr Justice Holman said the dispute was a ‘scandalous waste of court time’ and urged them to settle the case before more of their money was spent.
The couple’s marriage had fallen apart after Michael Parker was accused of burning down his wife’s £1m bungalow in 2009.
A judge found that, on the balance of probabilities, there was no explanation for the fire ‘other than it was set by persons on the direction of Mr Parker’. He was never prosecuted for arson.
The towel business had been started by his wife and was a success with the company BC Softwear supplying towels to The Dorchester and other top hotels.
Michael Parker, who made his fortune from property developments, was made a director of the company along with his sons Thomas and Eddie.
While the company flourished he had his own helicopter and neighbours would see it circling over his home called Babbs – named after his wife.
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