A British real estate investor has announced a campaign to acquire, restore, and reopen shuttered churches across the UK.
In a post on X, Samuel Leeds declared, “I wanna buy churches like this that are shutting down across England. So if you know a church that’s for sale and potentially closing down, let me know. I wanna buy a church.”
According to GB News, 3,500 churches have closed across the UK in the past decade. Some properties were converted into housing, while others were repurposed as mosques and nightclubs. For Leeds, the church properties should remain as Christian houses of worship.
“I don’t care how profitable the conversion will be,” he continued. “If it was built as a church, I believe it needs to stay as a church. I want to save churches like this one from being shut down and sold off to developers all across the UK. I love making profit in property, but when someone’s being built as a church to honour Jesus Christ, that’s a no no.”
Leeds stated that he made a £250,000 offer to purchase the former Darlaston Methodist Church in Wednesbury, England, which had attracted the attention of multifamily developers. He added that he planned to buy the property and “offer it completely free of charge, with zero rent, to a church willing to worship Jesus here and serve others.”
Leeds, who has hosted training seminars for prospective real estate investors, stressed that he was not fundraising for this endeavor.
“To those asking how they can donate to the cause, I don’t want any money,” he said. “I want you to attend Church on Sunday and donate to your local Church.”
