£300 million of Brighton and Hove property owned by tax haven firms

HUNDREDS of properties worth more than £300 million in Brighton and Hove are owned by firms based in off-shore tax havens.

Care homes, pubs, supermarkets, doctors’ surgeries, petrol stations and shops are all among almost 300 properties owned by firms based in foreign climes with beneficial tax arrangements.

Millions of pounds in tax revenue are likely to have been lost from the country’s coffers through these land and property purchases made over the past 15 years.

The figures have led the city’s MPs to raise concerns about the current system and call for an urgent tightening up on the rules on foreign ownership of property in the UK.

Some of the city’s most expensive retail property is owned by firms based in tax havens including Churchill Square and Sainsbury’s at Vogue Gyratory which is valued at almost £30 million, according to extensive research and mapping carried out by Private Eye.

High-street companies including Caffe Nero, Costa Coffee, Gap, Wagamama, Clinton Cards, Sports Direct and Strada are all tenants to tax haven-based owners along with some of city’s best-loved including Resident, Taj and MyHotel.

Other well-known city buildings listed include the “Wedding Cake” Amex House, the converted Co-op department store in London Road and The Pines Care Home in Hove – where D-Day war hero Bernard Jordan lived before his death.

As well as commercial properties, scores of houses and flats are owned by tax haven-based firms including architectural gems such as the 18th century listed Old House in Preston Road and desirable addresses in Brunswick and Regency squares, Clifton Hill and Chichester Terrace.

While the offshore companies are not acting illegally, the status could have helped them to significantly reduce their stamp duty, inheritance tax, capital gains tax and income tax liabilities.

There are also concerns that a lack of oversight by tax haven countries make them a target for criminal organisations to launder money through the UK property market.

Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas said: “It’s deeply concerning to see such a large number of properties in Brighton and Hove owned by these shadowy companies based in tax havens.

“Given the level of housing need in our city it’s particularly obscene to see so many properties being bought up by international companies – rather than being used as homes for local people.

“To protect and strengthen our local economy, and to crack down on tax avoidance, we urgently need tighter rules to govern foreign ownership of properties in the UK.”

Hove MP Peter Kyle said: “This is about fairness and those seeking to use their wealth to find loopholes that the rest of us couldn’t use and wouldn’t use is simply wrong and therefore I support those calling for the rules governing this to be tightened up.”