Dyson is among the leading British entrepreneurs who own property in the UK via offshore companies | Business

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Billionaires and business figures including James Dyson and Tina Green own property in the UK via offshore companies, according to a new registry aimed at improving transparency.

Business tycoons appear in a list revealed by a Guardian investigation last week about race driver Lewis Hamilton, the Chinese government, a string of Gulf royals and at least 20 Tory donors.

Advertisements are registered with the UK Government’s new Register of Overseas Entities. It is legal to hold properties through offshore companies. All those named as beneficial owners in the register have complied with their legal obligations by declaring the holdings.

But the record highlights how billions of pounds of most London property has been held across jurisdictions such as the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and the Channel Islands. The Guardian believes there is a general interest in reporting the business interests and property ownership structures of the rich and powerful.

Dyson is named on the record as the beneficial owner of Weybourne Holdings Pte, a Singapore-based multinational company that also includes appliance company Dyson, the family office set up to manage his personal wealth, and a portfolio of commercial properties in the UK. Our analysis indicates that Weybourne owns 31 properties in the UK, which land records indicate are worth at least £287m.

Dyson moved its home appliances business to Singapore in 2019.

Dyson, Britain’s second richest person, drew criticism when he moved his companies, after describing Brexit as a great opportunity for UK entrepreneurs. He said the decision to move was motivated by access to supply chains and customers in Asia.

Sir James Dyson, the second richest person in Britain, is the registered owner of a Singapore company that appears to own 31 UK properties. Photo: Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images

The assets owned by Weybourne Holdings include office complexes in the Mayfair and Camden areas of London, a £43 million strip of land on the Greenwich Peninsula, as well as sites in York and Oxfordshire.

Most of them were owned by the UK-based Weybourne Group until 2019, the year Dyson moved to Singapore, when they were transferred to Weybourne Holdings Pte. Some were purchased after the company moved overseas, according to cadastre records.

There is no indication that Dyson has gained any tax advantage by owning real estate across Singapore.

There was no tax advantage gained by owning the properties through Weybourne Holdings Pte, Dyson’s lawyers said, adding that some of the properties are occupied by entities within the Dyson group.

They added that Wyburn’s ownership of the properties was a matter of public record and reflected investment in the UK.

Tina Green, pictured here with her husband Philip Green, owns luxury properties in Mayfair via entities incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. Photo: Richard Young/REX/Shutterstock

Lady Green, wife of Philip Green, a retail magnate who suffered a dramatic fall from grace with the collapse of his retail empire, also appears in the Offshore Entity Register.

Its entries in the register align with documents from the Pandora Papers leak of external data, which showed it launched a property-buying spree as BHS’ retail empire nears collapse.

In June 2015, she bought a Mayfair flat for £4.95m using an offshore company via Amberley Limited, which is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. Green has been identified as the owner of Amberley, as well as BVI-based Hulverstone Investments, which paid £15m for a luxury triplex apartment in Mayfair in March 2016. She also acquired the £10.6m Belgravia Palace, via Mottistone Holdings in the Virgin Islands. British.

Greene’s lawyers said she had not been resident or residing in the UK for more than 23 years and that the property arrangements were legal and legitimate. They added that its real estate investments were completely separate from Philip Green’s business interests, including BHS.

Teddy Sagi, owner of Camden Market, has 27 companies registered in Jersey and the British Virgin Islands. Photography: El Alamy

Camden Market’s owner, Teddy Sagi, is named as the owner of 27 companies listed on the Register, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and Jersey. These companies own multiple properties including properties in Camden Market.

A spokesperson for Sagi said he welcomed the record. “As a result of the global nature of his business, his assets are handled by a range of companies according to the advice given by local advisors in each country, in which he invests.”

He said Saji’s real estate interests “consist solely of property-owning entities that are UK residents. Therefore, all real estate is fully taxed according to UK law in a completely transparent manner.”

Quick GuideUK For Sale: Reporting in the Offshore Entity Register

The UK Government’s new Offshore Entity Register has been created to improve transparency around British property ownership and help the authorities ensure the correct amount of tax is paid. It is legal to hold properties through offshore companies. Property owners through offshore corporations can do this for many reasons, from tax advantages to privacy or admiration for the stability or simplicity of a particular offshore tax regime. In the words of the government, foreign taxation is “complicated”.

But ministers concluded that transparency around foreign ownership of British property is an important step in improving the operation of the tax system. Explaining why the register was filed, the government said: “While the vast majority of individuals and businesses pay the correct amount of tax, mistakes are often made.” The Offshore Entity Register appears to be a huge step forward in transparency, as thousands of owners, including those reported by the Guardian, have come forward to declare their properties. All those named as beneficial owners in the Register have complied with their legal obligations by declaring their properties. About a quarter of the companies filing declarations so far have not disclosed their ownership publicly, because the trusts are only required to provide information on their beneficiaries to the tax authorities.

The Guardian has previously reported on offshore corporate ownership via leaks such as the Paradise Papers and the Pandora Papers, which has led governments, including the UK government, to increase scrutiny of international tax affairs and offshore secrecy. The Guardian believes that highlighting property in the UK owned by foreign and offshore companies by wealthy, politically connected and influential people enhances this transparency process and allows readers to better understand the power structures that influence their daily lives.

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Outside entities must also register with Companies House if they do not own property but have done so in the past or intend to do so in the future.

Chelsea’s new owner, Todd Bohle, has three entries on the register but none of them appear to own any property in the UK.

A spokesman for Bohli Eldridge Investment Group did not respond to requests for comment.

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