Private Eye data shows nearly £400 million of property in Milton Keynes bought by offshore companies

More than £375 million of land and property in Milton Keynes was bought by offshore companies between 2005 and 2014, according to research by Private Eye.

The purchases are registered in a number of different countries, some of which are often described as tax havens. The countries buying the most land included Jersey, Guernsey, Luxembourg, Germany and the British Virgin Islands.

Overseas ownership in Milton Keynes is not limited to large buildings – there are also a number of flats and houses also registered to offshore owners.

Commenting on their research, Private Eye said: “Over the last year Private Eye has revealed the extent of ownership of British land by offshore companies, generally for tax avoidance and often to conceal dubious wealth.”

Private Eye used Freedom of Information requests and land register entries to track down the specific addresses of leaseholds and freeholds bought by offshore companies between 2005 and 2014.

Notable properties owned by offshore companies include most of the remnants of the Wolverton Works – which were bought by a Luxembourg-based company for £12.8 million in 2010.

There are also various leaseholds in the city owned by companies registered in the British Virgin Islands and Jersey – among others.

Private Eye represented the properties on a map and explained the data, they said: “The map includes properties owned by any overseas company, not just those based in tax havens, sometimes for legitimate reasons.”