02 February 2023 , 21:21
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Two offshore companies which own Baroness Mone’s London home are linked to tax avoidance schemes, a Mirror investigation found.
A West London property described by neighbours as being used by Baroness Mone, her husband Doug Barrowman and her children from her first marriage, has been put on the market for £20million.
The Ultimo lingerie founder denied owning the property and failed to reveal who is behind the two British Virgin Islands companies that do so on behalf of an offshore trust.
They are registered to her husband Doug Barrowman’s Knox Group headquarters in the Isle of Man.
We found they are linked to two tax avoidance schemes designed to slash tax bills for contract or agency workers.
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But His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs has warned such schemes “rarely work” and that anyone who uses them can end up with “big tax bills”.
Mone’s £20m home in London (Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)The property in Belgravia is owned by Perree (PTC) Limited and Soldaldo (PTC) Limited. According to a document filed at the Land Registry, they are trustees for “the Belgravia Trust”.
Baroness Mone’s press office told us: “Not that it is any of your business, Baroness Mone has no involvement in the companies you have stated and does not own a home in London you have referred to.”
The house was bought for £11million in 2015. A builder involved in its refurbishment said he met Barrowman and understood the property was for his personal use.
It was raided by the National Crime Agency in April 2022 as part of an investigation into PPE Medpro, which won more than £200m in government contracts after lobbying by Baroness Mone. She denies any wrongdoing.
Two British Virgin Islands companies own the property on behalf of an offshore trust (Getty Images)Perree (PTC) Limited and Soldaldo (PTC) Limited are linked to two tax avoidance schemes which have been highlighted by HMRC.
Maltese firm Gateway Outsource Solutions Ltd was named by HMRC in August.
According to HMRC, clients enter an “employment agreement” with Gateway and then receive “ two salary payments, one paid at national minimum wage and a second as a loan or advance, which is not taxed”.
A second firm in Malta, Integra Resourcing Limited, was named by HMRC in November as a promoter or enabler of another scheme. Both are “disguised remuneration” schemes – which HMRC “classes as tax avoidance”.
According to documents filed with Malta’s company registry, Gateway and Integra are owned by Soldaldo (PTC) Limited in the British Virgin Islands, having been owned by Perree before.
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Mary Aiston, HMRC director of counter avoidance, said: “Schemes are advertised as clever ways to pay less tax but in reality, they rarely work as the promoters promise.”
Barrowman did not respond to a request for comment.