This isn’t a tale of boy-meets-girl. Instead, it’s boys-meet-football-club, fall in love, and turn a small community into an international destination.
The boys in question are X-Men and Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds and fellow American actor Rob McElhenney — and the community is Wrexham, where Rightmove says house prices have risen 16 per cent since mid-2020 off the back of this unfolding fairy tale.
Reynolds and McElhenney paid £2 million for the business when it was at its lowest ebb, but on Saturday the club was promoted to the National League, ending a 15-year non-league stint.
Yet the actors have not stopped there, instead investing time and publicity that’s proven to be worth far more to the 65,000 residents of Wrexham living between the Welsh mountains of the Dee Valley and close to trendy Cheshire across the border in England.
On the up: Wrexham in north Wales benefits from affordable housing at the heart of the city
They haven’t been typical super-rich club owners, sitting in a far-off country treating their investment as a cash cow.
Instead, they created the Welcome To Wrexham docu-series on Disney+ and insisted that Netflix adds Welsh language subtitles for films they star in.
They also helped with celebrations when Wrexham was designated a city and won an award for promoting Welsh culture.
Naturally they’ve sprinkled a little stardust, too. For example, the legendary Elf and The Lego Movie star Will Farrell dropped in for a pint and chatted to locals at the Turf pub, close to the club ground, as a guest of Reynolds ahead of a crunch match.
‘Reynolds and McElhenney have caused a real buzz in the town and have put the area on the map outside of Wales,’ says Adam Palmer, associate director at the local Strutt & Parker agency. ‘You can’t walk far without hearing someone talking about it.’
He adds: ‘A significant amount of the housing stock in Wrexham is under £500,000 and there’s no denying you get a lot more for your money than in the well-known neighbouring towns, such as Chester.’
Analysis of the local market by another agency, Belvoir, shows that the average price of a Wrexham home is £192,914.
Star quality: Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds (right) and Rob McElhenney (left) bought Wrexham FC for £2m in 2021. The team has now won promotion to the football league
Typical detached properties fetch just under £310,000 and terraces £140,000; a flat can be yours for well under £110,000.
The city centre has two indoor markets and a weekly one outdoors, too. While close to the new Explore science museum there’s Toast cafe and deli, which was voted the Best In Wales earlier this year.
Local estate agents say this is one of the few cities in the UK where living in the centre remains highly affordable. For example, you can get a two-bed terrace house a short stroll from the shops for £130,000.
Just north of the centre a four-bedroom family house in an exclusive modern development close to local schools is £550,000.
Alternatively, there is a choice of unspoilt rural communities on the fringe. ‘South of Wrexham is the pretty village of Overton, which has the River Dee on its doorstep and you’re not far from Erddig Parkland National Trust here, too,’ says Adam Palmer.
But it’s the nearby village of Marford that is the focus of speculation.
Talk is rife of Ryan Reynolds apparently pondering the purchase of a house near the village’s two pubs, the Red Lion and Trevor Arms.
It’s a community known for its mix of Gothic architecture and new-build homes. Estate agency Fisher German nicknames the area ‘Millionaire’s Row’.
There are inevitably downsides to this new-found fame. Rowdiness on match days at the local McDonald’s led to the restaurant playing classical music to de-stress customers, and the local press has had naysayers warning of higher visitor numbers and more traffic.
If you want to get a slice of the action, get in quick though. Local agents say the spring selling season has seen a brisk start — and every home win by Wrexham triggers renewed interest in the area.
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