A 24-year-old nanny who scooped a £3 million home celebrated the incredible win with a McDonald’s.
Lauren Keene, from Gloucester, had bought a £20 ticket for Omaze’s latest house draw in the hope of winning an incredible house on the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside.
She was on her way home from work, and was planning to make a stop at a McDonald’s drive through, when she got a call from Omaze informing her she had won something.
Lauren decided to skip the drive-through and headed home, where the Omaze team told her she’d scooped the five-bedroom Wirral mansion and £250,000 in cash.
It makes her the youngest ever Omaze winner to date.
Recalling the day she found out, she said: ‘It was just an ordinary Friday really, I was heading for a McDonald’s after work when I got a call from Omaze telling me I’d won something..
‘I was sceptical – and hungry – but went straight home to see what I’d won.
‘The next thing we knew, the Omaze team were all there telling us we’d won a £3 million mansion.
‘I was gobsmacked.
‘It was definitely worth missing my McDonald’s for, it’s made me a multi-millionaire.
‘We did end up celebrating with a Maccies afterwards and it was a very, very happy meal indeed.’
Lauren has been living with her dad in a two-bedroom flat while she and her partner of six years Ryan Mitchell save up for a home.
‘Winning this house has transformed our lives forever. Whatever we decide to do long term, we’re made for life now,’ she said.
The 4,750 square foot prize property, which was nominated for the RIBA Mansell house of the year, features five bedrooms, a cinema room, a heated swimming pool and coastal views.
It comes fully furnished, mortgage free and all stamp duty and legal fees are covered.
If Lauren decides to rent it out, local estate agents estimate that the property could bring in £8,000 per month.
The £3.5 million raised from the partnership with Omaze will fund Scouts to open new groups in local communities, especially low-income areas, helping young people of every background.
It will also support young people in their early years (in Squirrels Scouts) as they start out on their journey through Scouts.
Scouts chief executive Aidan Jones said: ‘Our partnership with Omaze has been just brilliant.
‘The partnership will allow us to help grow our new Squirrel Scout section.
“The funds generated will help over 16,000 four and five-year-olds learn key life skills.
‘As well as the funds we had expected to generate from working with Omaze, we are blown away by the extra funds that have been created.
‘These extra resources will help us support the learning and development of our volunteer teams and help us with our plans to support improved teenage mental wellbeing.’
Almost every Omaze house winner has sold the property instead of living in it or renting it out.
In September, we took at look at why.
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