Winning formula: F1 boss Eddie Jordan and his son are raffling a £750k Tooting flat for a tenner

Formula One legend Eddie Jordan is offering Londoners the chance to win a three-bedroom flat in south London, which he says will be worth £750,000, for the price of a (posh) gin and tonic.

The former F1 boss is raffling the property he owns in Tooting with his son, Kyle, via their property company Win a Property (WAP), set up to sell properties on behalf of developers.

The flat is a first-floor period conversion close to Tooting Bec Tube station, which is currently undergoing a comprehensive renovation — with design overseen by Kyle.

The Top Gear presenter said he was raffling the property after a chat in Monaco with his son about how difficult Kyle's friends found it to buy their own homes in London.

“My son said that so many of his friends he went to school with, they’ve got good jobs but finding a deposit is proving to be a real struggle for most of them and they're still living in rented property,” says Jordan over the phone from the Singapore Grand Prix.

“I get the clear impression that in London, owning even a studio or starting a family is out of reach of most people.”

The flat has an open-plan kitchen/living area and direct access to a private roof terrace.

In 2017 Tooting was named one of the 10 coolest areas in the world by Lonely Planet.

To be in with a chance of winning, entrants must pay £10, “the price of a gin and tonic in a posh pub”, according to Jordan and play a game of spot the ball.

As renovation works are still underway at the property, ticket buyers should be aware they will not see the completed property until after they have entered the raffle.

The competition will close on December 23 and the pair expect to sell over 100,000 tickets.

The flat will be offered unfurnished and stamp duty and lawyers’ fees will be covered as part of the prize.

“I really hope it’s someone who’s committed to London, who wants to live there, set up a home and a family, who really needs a bit of a break in their lives, but it’s like saying ‘who do you want to win the Grand National?’ You can’t control it,” says Jordan.

IS IT LEGAL?

Eddie and Karl got advice from gambling lawyers to confirm the competition's legality.

Gambling Commission rules say that anyone thinking of “raffling” a property must be sure their scheme counts as a competition rather than “a lottery”. Running an unauthorised lottery can lead to a year in jail and a £5,000 fine.

A lottery requires buying tickets and getting lucky. To comply with gambling rules, a property raffle must be a competition requiring some skill on the part of the entrant.

This is why all property raffles require entrants to answer a question as well as buy a ticket. The Gambling Commission may take a dim view of a question that is too easy.

Usually, there must also be an opportunity to enter for free, so most property raffles allow one free postal entry per person. If the question is deemed difficult enough, this is not necessary.

IS THIS THE ONLY PROPERTY RAFFLE?

By no means. Raffling property has become increasingly popular in the UK over the past year, as homeowners struggle to achieve sale prices as high as they want or need for their homes.

Uri Geller is currently hosting the raffle of a Bracknell commuter home, while a Maida Vale mansion flat, Brixton apartment and riverfront Huf Haus are among the other properties up for grabs for a tiny fraction of their sale price.

However, the owners of a luxurious house on the banks of the river Thames had to offer a cash prize after they failed to sell enough £25 raffle tickets to cover the value of the property.

The Gambling Commission, which regulates illegal prize draws, has also intervened in several improperly run property raffles so far this year.

Enter the competition here.