YOU may never have heard of Mandy Lieu but she is set to become one of Basingstoke and Deane’s largest landowners.

The Malaysian model reportedly paid £28 million for Ewhurst Park estate, located just outside Ramsdell, which was owned by the Dukes of Wellington from 1817 until 1943.

The 35-year-old said that she plans to turn the estate into an eco-farm, as well as introducing holiday lets, planting a ‘micro-forest’ and establishing a retreat for families affected by motor neurone disease.

But who is the multimillionaire who just purchased the 925 acre plot?

Who is Mandy Lieu?

Mandy Lieu  is a Malaysian-American model, actress and entertainment personality.

She has built up a huge following in Asia over 15 years with modelling campaigns, starring roles in movies and presenting TV shows.

She has featured on the cover of many magazines, including More, Me, HIM, Marie Claire, Wedding Deluxe, Elle Wedding.

You may recognise Lieu from one of her many modelling campaigns with the likes of Hugo Boss, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Dior, Ted Baker,  Mulberry,  Swarovski and many more.

Ms Lieu has hit headlines on several occasions, and most recently for reportedly received a £29.7million 'break-up fee' from married Macau tycoon Alvin Chau, who has an estimated $2billion fortune, when they ended their five-year relationship last year.

Ms Lieu shares three children - a son and two daughters - with Mr Chau, 46, who also has two children with his wife, Heidi Chan. 

Why did she buy Ewhurst Park estate?

Lieu plans to transform it into a farm producing world-class organic food and to attract experts in rewilding and regenerative farming. 

She hopes to pick the brains of experts in rewilding, where land is restored to its original, pre-human condition by improving its connectivity and restoring ecological processes such as predation.

Regenerative farming is also reportedly on the agenda, which aims to regenerate the topsoil and improve the water cycle of farms to improve their crop production over time.

Who owned the estate before Mandy Lieu?

The estate is said to have been brought in 2007 by American-born businessman Michael Cohen.

He is believed to have purchased the estate for £12 million as a country pit-stop while overseeing deals from his London office.

What does the estate have to do with the Duke of Wellington?

The estate at Ewhurst was first recorded in The Domesday Book in 1086, when it was held by Walter of Hugh de Port. Over the years, it passed through a number of owners until the Dukes of Wellington purchased it in 1817.

Between 1817 and 1943, the Dukes of Wellington were the principal land owners in Baughurst.

Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Conservative statesmen who became one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century in Britain - serving twice as prime minister.

He ended the Napoleonic Wars when he defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The Duke acquired the Wolverton and Ewhurst estate, encompassing some several thousand acres in the parishes of Wolverton, Ewhurst, Baughurst, Tadley and thereabouts north-west of Basingstoke, purchased from Sir Peter Pole and his trustees in 1831/32.

Although the family seat was at Stratfield Saye, the 4th Duke of Wellington preferred to stay at Ewhurst until his death in 1934.

In 1943 the Ewhurst and Wolverton estates were sold by auction, and during the Second World War they were taken over by the Canadian Military.