Prince Charles invests in UK industrial warehouse
Prince Charles has reportedly spent £38 million on an industrial depot in Brinklow, Milton Keynes as part of £102 million property acquistions over the past four years, The Independent, has revealed.
The purchase of the vast supermarket warehouse was through the Duchy of Cornwall estate.
The newspaper reported it was one of the single largest acquisitions by the Duchy of Cornwall in its 670-year history.
It was completed 18 months ago but has been kept from being made public as Clarence House has declined to disclose any details of the expensive acquisition due to what the Prince's officials said was the Duchy's "private" status.
The Prince bought the sprawling grey warehouse complex in Milton Keynes from an Anglo-Indian property fund.
His tenants are Waitrose, who are using the depot as a lorry distribution hub. Waitrose Limited is an upmarket chain of British supermarkets, forming the food retail division of Britain's largest employee-owned retailer, the John Lewis group.
Under an arrangement which is now being scrutinised by Bristish MPs, the Duchy is exempt from capital gains and corporation tax.
Charles voluntarily pays income tax.
An investigation by The Independent revealed that the Duchy, which is one of Britain's largest private estates and owns more than 50,000 hectares of land, conducted property transactions worth at least £102 million between 2009 and last December.
Any sale or purchase by the Prince worth more than £500,000 must be approved by the Treasury.
The Duchy's holdings worth £693 million stretch across 23 counties.
They include most of the Scilly Isles, Dartmoor Prison, the Oval cricket ground in central London and a Holiday Inn in Reading.
It also owns the Prince's private homes such as Highgrove.
Waitrose has recently expanded its Milton Keynes space with another 318,000 square foot plus distribution centre, located in Snelshall West, Milton Keynes through Colliers International.
Waitrose took a five-year lease at a rental rising to £5.95 per sq ft, and will continue to occupy its nearby Brinklow facility, which will now concentrate on fresh foods.
