Laois Mansion bought for €400,000 to get a €6 million revamp

Tech billionaire John Collision is reportedly planning to spend €6 million to renovate a derelict house he purchased from Laois County Council. 

The Limerick man, who has already spent more than €10 million on Abbey Leix House, bought Millbrook House in Abbeyleix for €400,000  last summer. 

It is being reported that Mr Collision,  who co-founded Stripe payment services with his brother Patrick, wrote to the council prior to the purchase outlining his plans for the property. 

In documents obtained through freedom of information and reported widely, he  outlined the fact that he had bought Abbeyleix Estate and was intent on maintaining it for future generations. 

He committed to spending a total of €6 million renovating the Millbrook House property and looking after its grounds. 

Mr Collison pointed out that he was employing skilled workers in Abbeyleix Estate who could carry out the specialist type of work needed at Millbrook House without unnecessary delay. The letter stated that the property would be maintained and prevented from falling into disrepair.

Built in 1885, Millbrook House in Oldtown, Abbeyleix  was compulsorily purchased by Laois County Council in  May of 2021 in the hope of saving the property from further deterioration. 

The 9,000  sq ft building had fallen into disrepair and was in need of complete restoration. The building is listed in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. The property had belonged to  John Patrick Colclough before it was purchased by the council.  

At the  time it was put up for sale, Laois County Council said their primary concerns were having the building weatherproofed, returned to its former state and also being able  to recoup the money spent purchasing the property by Compulsory Purchase Order(CPO). 

They didn't have to wait long as the property was purchased through a company owned by John Collison, who has also purchased the Abbeyleix Estate.

According to reports, Mr Collison has given a commitment that the property can be returned to the derelict sites register if remedial works aren't carried out in a reasonable period of time.