- Have YOU got a story? Email tips@dailymail.co.uk
A disgraced former Premier League football club owner is at the centre of an extraordinary row with his wealthy neighbours – after he let his Filipino housemaid live at his £7million mansion – and she moved in 11 of her friends and family.
Carson Yeung, who owned Birmingham City before he was jailed for laundering £55m in his native Hong Kong, purchased his gated seven-bedroom house on the affluent Coombe estate in south-west London in 2007.
Yet the tycoon has only lived there fleetingly and essentially handed the property over to his housekeeper who has now lived there for almost two decades.
Remarkably, she has even raised Mr Yeung’s granddaughter as her own – and over time moved in relatives, friends and acquaintances to help care for the child, sparking fury among neighbours in a postcode where homes sell for more than £14million.
The bizarre sequence of events is detailed in planning papers which revealed that as many as 11 friends and family of the housekeeper were living under the same roof – and she had been ordered to apply for a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licence with the council.
Yeung, who purchased the Blues while a Premier League club in 2009 for £81.5 million, was jailed for six years in 2014 for laundering millions through bank accounts.
In that time, he barely visited his millionaires’ row mansion in the capital.
Instead, those residing at the affluent SW19 address were not the fallen tycoon’s family – but instead relatives and acquaintances of his housekeeper Concepcion Limson.
Carson Yeung (pictured) owned Birmingham City before he was jailed for laundering £55m in his native Hong Kong
Now, relatives and friends of Concepcion Limson (pictured) live in the luxury property
Yeung purchased his gated seven-bedroom house on the affluent Coombe estate in south-west London (pictured) in 2007
Council officials took enforcement action over the unusual living set-up after claiming the property was being used as an unauthorised HMO.
In the planning application, Ms Limson revealed how she had become the legal guardian to Yeung’s granddaughter, claiming the girl had ‘no contact with her natural parents or the grandparents’.
She said she was unable to live alone in the vast property while raising the child and allowed members of her extended family – along with other people known to her – to move in to help provide care and support.
Agents acting on her behalf told Kingston-upon-Thames council that ‘due to various family circumstances’ the original owners had left the country and placed the house in her care.
They said Yeung and partner Dan Zhou had lived there only ‘intermittently’ since buying the property in 2007 and that Ms Limson was currently responsible for Yeung’s granddaughter.
They said: ‘[Ms Limson] has allowed other members of her extended family and other people known to her to share the house.
‘She is the legal guardian to one of the owners’ granddaughter who has lived at the house with her since birth.’
Ms Limson insisted the extended household acted as a surrogate family, providing the girl with a ‘safe, secure and loving environment’.
Ms Limson revealed how she had become the legal guardian to Yeung’s granddaughter (pictured)
Council officials took enforcement action over the unusual living set-up after claiming the property was being used as an unauthorised HMO
‘Therefore, as some of the occupants are unrelated it is necessary to apply for a change of use to a large HMO,’ they argued.
But the bid sparked fury among neighbours on the prestigious estate where 38 of them objected – warning the HMO would ‘undermine the established character of the area’, ‘increase noise levels’ and set an unwelcome precedent.
One neighbour cited the ‘legal situation of the owner’, while another suggested a HMO would ‘reduce the security of adjoining properties by accommodating people who would be likely to break into neighbours’ houses’.
When the Daily Mail visited the area, locals told how neighbours were ‘not happy’ upon learning that the mansion was being used as an effective house-share – with one describing the set-up as ‘like student accommodation’.
A neighbour said: ‘There were a lot of people there during the lockdown when extra relations of the lady, who was the housekeeper, started staying.
‘When the council heard about how many people were living there, they were told they did not have permission for it and told them they needed to apply for a HMO – which when the neighbours heard about it were not happy.
‘This is an area of special interest with a lot of old houses. We just thought an HMO is not appropriate for the area and we definitely do not want these lovely family homes being changed into flats.
‘We were not happy to have more people here and we thought if it was approved it would set a precedent.’
Locals told the Mail that neighbours were ‘not happy’ upon learning that the mansion was being used as an effective house-share
Ms Limson argued that those in the property were ‘key workers’ such as ‘nurses, a child psychologist and a pharmacist’
Another added: ‘The houses here are big family homes and we don’t want to see big HMOs right in the middle of the estate because it’s not in keeping with what you see and it’s not really the place for it.
‘It’s okay when you have these big homes filled with big families, but when you have individuals who are not related to one another and they might invite their other friends, it starts to feel like student accommodation.
‘Suddenly you have this big group of unrelated people in the middle of these family homes. And it feels like the countryside here so it’s not something many people on the estate would be supportive of.
‘We bought this place because of the family feel to the community and it’s very nice here. HMOs would make the area have a different feel to it.’
Ms Limson argued that those in the property were ‘key workers’ such as ‘nurses, a child psychologist and a pharmacist’.
She said that ‘due to various family circumstances the original owners have now left the country’ and that she could not live in the house with the child ‘without support from this extended family and friends’.
The council refused the retrospective application outright and served an enforcement notice to stop its unauthorised use.
This month, the independent Planning Inspectorate dismissed Ms Limson’s final appeal.
Agents acting on her behalf told Kingston-upon-Thames council that ‘due to various family circumstances’ the original owners had left the country and placed the house in her care
A neighbour said: ‘There were a lot of people there during the lockdown when extra relations of the lady, who was the housekeeper, started staying’
In his ruling, inspector Simon Hand said the house had been used as an HMO since it was bought in 2007, with occupancy peaking at 11 people in 2013 and rising again in 2019 to 10 and remaining ‘high thereafter’.
Mr Hand said: ‘The house has been used as an HMO since it was purchased by the current owners in 2007. They are Carson Yeung and Dan Zhou, based in Hong Kong, but travel to the UK intermittently when they live in the house.
‘The only person who has been in the house for the entire time is Concepcion Limson.
‘She, it would seem, is an employee of the owners, but is also the legal guardian of their granddaughter, who lives with Ms Limson.
‘A variety of other people have lived at the house over the years.’
Mr Hand added: ‘[Ms Limson] would appear to be an employee of the owners, who live abroad.
‘She lives there with an adopted daughter and the rest of the occupants are wider members of the family who have come to London to attend university.
‘Several third parties have provided more information about these arrangements but actual details are sparse.’
Residents now have six months to find alternative accommodation, after which the mansion must revert to use as a single family home
In his ruling, inspector Simon Hand said the house had been used as an HMO since it was bought in 2007,
Residents now have six months to find alternative accommodation, after which the mansion must revert to use as a single-family home.
The ruling adds another awkward footnote to Yeung’s fall from grace.
The former hairdresser made a fortune on the Hong Kong stock market before buying Birmingham City in 2009 for £81.5million.
He arrived promising big spending, cheaper tickets and ambitions to crack the Chinese market.
Just two years later, he was arrested in Hong Kong and eventually jailed for six years for laundering more than £55million – in a case prosecutors said linked him to high-stakes casino gambling and organised crime.
A judge said Yeung ‘lied whenever he saw the need to do so’ and ruled that his financial skill had been central to the laundering operation.
The court was told that Yeung had maintained a business relationship with Cheung Chi-tai, the head of one of Hong Kong’s four largest Triad-organised crime gangs, Wo Hop To.
Although the offences were not linked to his ownership of Birmingham City, Yeung resigned from all his roles after his conviction, leaving the club in turmoil.
Control later passed to Hong Kong businessman Paul Suen before the Championship club was bought by US firm Knighthead Capital Management in 2023, with NFL legend Tom Brady taking a minority stake.