Ann Kaplan & Lympne Castle

“Having worked with PR Superstar since the start of 2023, I have become well aware of Jill Kent’s extraordinary capabilities, work ethic and exceptional talent. I am grateful and honoured to be a part of the numerous organisations that rely on PR Superstar to launch, develop and grow their businesses. In a very short time, Jill managed to have us featured in major outlets, both in print and online, in the UK and internationally; she brought in continuous television coverage; she even secured me my own monthly column in a magazine; and was at all times forthright, honest, strategic and focused. ‘Superstar’ sums it up!”

Ann Kaplan Mulholland, Founder & CEO, Lympne Castle Management

As featured in…

Background and Brief

Billion-dollar power couple Dr Ann Kaplan Mulholland and Dr Stephen Mulholland packed their bags and moved 6,000 kms around the world to the UK where they bought 1,000-year-old Lympne Castle in Kent, with its connections to King Henry VIII and a history that can be traced back to 1080. Self-made finance businesswoman Ann, who is a mum-of-eight with four degrees and an MBA, is on a £25 million mission to return the stunning Medieval castle and its grounds that overlook the English Channel towards France to their former glory. She is also a reality TV star and a household name in her native Canada. The couple are completing a deal with a major TV network to film a docu-reality series about Lympne Castle and their adventures in the UK that will be broadcast in this country, the US, Canada and Australia in 2025.

After a recommendation from Ann’s US PR agency, I was signed up to PR both her and the romantic and regal Grade I listed castle near Hythe, as well as the couple’s forthcoming TV show. Ann’s husband is a world-renowned plastic surgeon who co-founded a medical technology company that is proudly listed on the NASDAQ.

After two years of working together, I was tasked with gaining press coverage to raise awareness about the Labour Government’s abolition of the non-dom tax regime in April 2025, which will force Ann and many other billionaires and multi-millionaires to leave the UK, taking their money with them and leaving the country poorer.

Campaign and Results

As always with clients, I am completely upfront about PR outcomes during our very first meeting, and I explained to Ann that I couldn’t be sure how her PR would go. She was a famous face in her native Canada but completely unknown in the UK. It was also a year to go before the TV deal was agreed and Lympne Castle was just one of Ann’s 13 homes scattered around the world, from Necker Island to Las Vegas, so she actually spent a lot of time outside the UK. Despite this, she was happy to give the PR a go and I suggested an initial three-month contract so we could quickly evaluate success, or lack of.

To my delight, our PR got off to a great start, and just got better and better. The British tabloids and the midmarket press lapped up the story that I pitched about a reality TV star who lives by the word ‘unscripted’ packing her bags and moving thousands of kilometres around the world to England, snapping up a 1,000-year-old Medieval castle that she now calls home. I said that she threw caution to the wind after the couple’s youngest of eight children, aged 19 – 33, flew the nest and they decided to buy a bolthole in Britain. I explained that the self-made serial entrepreneur, whose net worth is more than £500 million, is one of the stars of ‘The Real Housewives of Toronto’ and is a household name in Canada. I told how as well as Lympne Castle being a glorious home for the Kaplan Mulholland clan, the famous family will continue the castle’s long-established use as a magical fantasy, fairy tale wedding venue to promote its commercial aspect.

I targeted showbiz, TV, entertainment, celebrity, wedding, property and features editors and their teams, as well as TV and local press. Highlights so far include a 12-page feature in HELLO! magazine, a six-page feature in The Telegraph Magazine, a double page spread in The Sunday Times, and a lengthy spot on ITV1’s This Morning, which came out to film Ann at the castle.

Ann has signed up PR Superstar on a year-long retainer, her suggestion!