EXCLUSIVE: The hotel owner only discovered the offer was for asylum seekers after pressing the company for information.

Hotel owner rejects £3m contract to house asylum seekers – ‘It would ruin our village’

EXCLUSIVE: The hotel owner only discovered the offer was for asylum seekers after pressing the company for information.

15:17, Sun, Aug 31, 2025 Updated: 15:17, Sun, Aug 31, 2025

Samuel Leeds rejected a £3m offer to house migrants at his hotel. (Image: Samuel Leeds)

A boutique hotel owner has rejected a £3 million, seven-year contract to house migrants, saying it would “harm the village.” Samuel Leeds was offered what he described as an “attractive” deal for the historic Willingham House in Willingham, Cambridgeshire, but refused to be part of the “arrogant” government’s asylum system. The 34-year-old bought the hotel in March 2023 and quickly began renovations. As the refurbishment neared completion, he was approached in June this year by a company he had previously worked with.

“He wanted to make me an offer to rent the whole building,” Mr Leeds told the Express. The company owner told him, “The council is going to pay me, and then I can pay you, but I’ll pay you guaranteed rent.” After a verbal agreement, the company sent over a pre-lease agreement offering £35,000 a month (£420,000 a year) for six years and 11 months – despite the Government’s pledge to end the use of asylum hotels by 2029.