A father-to-be has been declared the winner of a £4.5 million four-bedroom Georgian townhouse in Borough with uninterrupted views of the Shard after spending £35 on prize entries.
Hospitality worker Roger Cana, 37, is the lucky new owner of the five-storey property, once dubbed Britain’s ‘priciest council house’, after hitting jackpot in the Omaze Million Pound House Draw.
As well as the house, Roger also pocketed a whopping £250,000 in cash, to help him and his pregnant wife Shalini, 33, settle in.
Reacting to his win, Roger said: “I’ve always considered myself quite unlucky, as I’ve never won anything before this, but I guess I can’t say that anymore.”
The home is located on Park Street near Borough Market, offering uninterrupted views of The Shard from its award-winning garden. The house has a rich history, including a painted Take Courage “ghost sign” on one side of the brick exterior, invoking its past as part of the former Anchor Brewery.
A little over a decade ago, the multimillion pound Borough pad was attracting attention for somewhat different reasons. Nicknamed Britain’s ‘priciest council house’, the property was projected to bring in £2.3 million for Southwark Council when it decided to place it on the market.
Roger and his wife will now choose whether to relocate to Borough from their current rented studio flat in Hayes, west London, rent the townhouse out or sell it – making Roger an instant multimillionaire.
Omaze estimates that if he decides to keep the property, the £250,000 would enable him to run the house for almost ten years.
If they decide to rent it out, local estate agents estimate the property could achieve a long-term rental value of between £8,000 – £10,000 per month.
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Whatever they choose to do, the prize is life-changing for the couple, who had been saving for a deposit to buy a house but will now never need to take out a mortgage. Should they wish to, they have the option of raising their son in a multi-million pound abode, a stone’s throw from some of London’s most iconic landmarks.
Recalling the moment his life changed forever, Roger said: “It was just another Friday, really—I’d been working hard all day, then I got an email from Omaze saying I’d won something.
“The next thing I knew they turned up and told us we’d won a £4.5 million home in London. We couldn’t believe it. My legs were shaking and my knees went wobbly. We were in total shock.
“We had a bottle of champagne in the house, so we popped that open and got cooking. We always celebrate good times with good food.
“Then we called our families. At first, they all thought we were joking. Then they went from disbelief to being so, so happy for us.”
On his new house, he said: “The house is amazing, I got butterflies as soon as I saw it. The furnishings are beautiful, which is great for us as we don’t have much of our own because we live in a studio flat. We could probably move here with all our belongings just packed into an Uber.”
Roger, who moved to the UK eight years ago from Goa, India, added: “I’ve lived and worked in London since I arrived here and the goal was to one day own a property here, but we never dreamed our first house would be worth £4.5 million.
“I work in hospitality, but now someone else can bring me the champagne for a change.
“We’ve been trying to save enough for a deposit so we can get a mortgage, but now we’ll never even need a mortgage. Turns out all we needed was £35 and a big slice of luck.
“My wife is an accountant, but you don’t have to be good with numbers to work out £35 into £4.5 million is a pretty good return.
“This has changed our lives forever—our baby’s future is now more secure than we could have ever imagined. It’s the best feeling in the world. Even our baby’s babies will be sorted!”
Funds from the draw will support The King’s Trust, a charity helping young people from disadvantaged backgrounds develop skills and access job opportunities. Omaze has pledged a minimum donation of £1 million to the charity, following a previous partnership in 2021 that raised £500,000.
