Guernsey Finance Chief Executive Rupert Pleasant said: The use of offshore companies to buy property is legal and the introduction of the register has been welcomed locally.

The stability of Guernsey - where some 2,293 entities are based, which compares to 5,251 in Jersey - has been cited by investors as to why they hold properties through companies based here. Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man, the British Virgin Islands and Luxembourg are the jurisdictions of choice for overseas property ownership, accounting for 75% of the companies on the register. The UK register was brought in to increase transparency and help the tax authorities by showing the ultimate owners of British property held offshore.īut the ownership of tens of thousands of the properties still remain secret to the public because of either the use of trusts the information not being filed listing of other companies in secretive jurisdictions as the ultimate owners or because there is said to be no beneficial owner. They include the likes of Nick Candy, the Reuben brothers, Abigail Johnson and the Perrodo family.Įxpress can reveal the scale of property ownership through the island and some of the names behind those investments after an investigation into the UK’s register of Overseas Entities.Īt least £9.1bn worth of property in England and Wales is owned through local structures, anything from walls and advertising hoardings through to hotels, offices, major housing developments, air space and prestigious offices. FOCUS: The rich and famous who own iconic UK property from Guernsey Sunday īillions of pounds worth of UK property is owned through Guernsey-based companies by some of the wealthiest people in the world.

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