Latest news with #Dragon'sDen-style
BBC News
29-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Prince Andrew's firm linked to controversial PPE millionaire
One of Prince Andrew's prized business assets was administered for two years by a company controlled by the controversial millionaire Doug Barrowman, the BBC can reveal. After the prince's disastrous Newsnight interview in 2019, legal ownership of his Dragon's Den-style start-up competition, Pitch@Palace Global, was transferred to a Barrowman-linked firm, Knox House Trustees (UK).Barrowman and his wife, lingerie boss Baroness Michelle Mone, hit the headlines when she admitted they had lied about their links to a company that won large government contracts during the Covid pandemic after she recommended it to ministers.A lawyer for Mr Barrowman said he "at no time... had any business or personal involvement with the duke". Pitch@Palace Global remained the prince's company, under his control. But in line with longstanding royal practice, it was owned under the names of other people or companies, acting on his behalf as so-called "nominees". Documents filed at Companies House show that from 2021, the nominee owner was Knox House Trustees (UK), which was controlled and ultimately owned by Mr Barrowman until 2023. Controversial associates Prince Andrew's finances have been under intense scrutiny, with questions about how he can afford to live in his Royal Lodge mansion in Windsor after he was cut off financially by his brother, King prince's choice of business associates has long been controversial. In December, he said he "ceased all contact" with Yang Tengbo, who led the Chinese arm of Pitch@Palace, after receiving advice from the UK government which alleged that he was a Yang has denied being a spy or doing anything Barrowman has attracted plenty of controversy too. In 2017, HMRC began an investigation into one of his companies, AML Tax (UK), which it said "aggressively promoted" tax avoidance schemes. It was fined £150,000 in January that year, the Guardian newspaper first reported links between Mr Barrowman, Baroness Mone and PPE Medpro. The pair denied involvement until December 2023, when she admitted in a BBC interview that they had lied about their links with the company. The National Crime Agency is now investigating suspected criminal offences at the firm. Mr Barrowman and Baroness Mone both deny any Andrew Lownie, who is writing a biography of the prince, said: "Andrew has a long history of associating with dubious business figures and disguising his business activities behind nominee and offshore accounts. There really needs to be a full investigation into the duke's financial activities." Who owns Pitch@Palace? Pitch@Palace was a start-up competition, founded in 2014, where entrepreneurs would pitch their ideas to possible investors in the hope of winning their backing. It had two parts:a UK-based version, set up as a community interest company, which cannot pay profits to shareholdersan international arm, Pitch@Palace Global Ltd, which held competitions in places such as Australia, Bahrain and China, and was set up as a for-profit UK companyBoth arms of Pitch@Palace suspended operations following the Newsnight interview in 2019 about the prince's links to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which led to Andrew stepping down as a working the international operation has emerged as a possible way for the duke to fund his lifestyle. In a court witness statement from 2023, Mr Yang wrote that the duke had needed money "and saw the relationships with China through Pitch as one possible source of funding".Earlier this year a Dutch company said it was in talks to buy it, saying it saw "immense value" in the network, even though it had suspended operations. However, Prince Andrew has never held the company in his own in 2017, Pitch@Palace Global Ltd was initially held in the name of Amanda Thirsk, the prince's private secretary, in an arrangement often used by the Royal early in 2021, the legal ownership was transferred to Knox House Trustees (UK) company had been set up the year before, and Mr Barrowman was named as having "significant influence and control" over it. Corporate filings in the Isle of Man show Knox House Trustees (UK) was ultimately owned by Knox Limited, whose sole shareholder is Mr Barrowman. Investigations into Barrowman's companies In 2023, ownership of Knox House Trustees (UK) Ltd – which still owned Pitch@Palace Global - was transferred to Arthur Lancaster, an accountant who has a longstanding working relationship with both the prince and Mr Barrowman. This remains the situation same year Mr Lancaster took over as the sole director and shareholder of PPE Medpro. He was also a director of many of the companies involved in the AML tax avoidance case. The judge in that case called him "evasive" and said he had "real concerns as to the reliability of Mr Lancaster's evidence", which contained "significant inconsistencies". After the case, his lawyer wrote to the court arguing that the conclusions were "unnecessarily harsh", that Mr Lancaster had been a "diligent and truthful witness", and that his efforts to provide information had been hampered by the Covid decades the Royal Family has held investments through nominees, and still does. In the past this has served to keep details of their holdings private, though not in this case. Prince Andrew's involvement in Pitch@Palace Global is well known, and he is listed as having "significant influence or control" over the company on Companies Barrowman's lawyer said in a statement: "Mr Lancaster was a director of KHT (UK) Ltd which provided company administration services to a number of external companies, including Pitch@Palace, a company wholly owned by the duke. Mr Lancaster acted for the duke in a personal capacity at all times and has been an associate of the duke for many years."Mr Lancaster declined to comment. Prince Andrew did not respond to requests for comment.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Deal to buy Prince Andrew's business unravels
A deal to take over the Duke of York's former start-up business network now seems to be in doubt, sources close to the negotiations have told the BBC. Dutch company Startupbootcamp (SBC) had held talks about buying Prince Andrew's Pitch@Palace network, a sale that could have provided him with a multi-million pound financial lifeline. But sources close to SBC say despite an announcement of an intended takeover, and talk of possible funding from Bahrain, nothing has been signed and no transactions have been carried out. It comes as Prince Andrew's finances have been under intense scrutiny, with questions about how he can afford to live in his Royal Lodge mansion after he was cut off financially by King Charles. The prince has to find several million pounds per year to cover security costs and pay for the upkeep of the 19th Century, 30-room house, in Windsor. A lucrative source of income had appeared to be on the horizon, with SBC widely reported in the UK press to be in the process of buying the contacts and network of the Pitch@Palace project. In February SBC announced its plans: "International investment group set to take over former Pitch@Palace global network." Pitch@Palace had been a Dragon's Den-style pitching competition for new business ideas, set up Prince Andrew in 2014 and run by him before he stepped down from royal duties in 2019. SBC had said it was attracted by Pitch@Palace's legacy of contacts, with 80,000 applications from 3,000 entrepreneurial companies in more than 60 countries. The Dutch firm, which has been running since 2010, helps to mentor and grow start-up businesses, particularly in the technology sector, with investments in 1,700 early-stage companies and running schemes in 27 countries. A takeover of the Pitch@Palace network had seemed imminent with SBC saying the partnership would be a "fantastic opportunity" and that it wanted to make use of a "great, but dormant" network of entrepreneurs. Jointly branded events had already been held. But sources close to SBC now say that despite a meeting at Buckingham Palace and a positive sounding press release about seeing "immense value in the network", nothing was concluded. No deal with Prince Andrew was ever signed or closed, and no transactions were made, whether in Europe, the Middle East or China, according to SBC's side of negotiations. Prince Andrew has been approached for comment. The plans to take over the Pitch@Palace network had initially been presented as a project between SBC and its "strategic partner", an investment company in Bahrain, called Waterberg Stirling. That arrangement seems no longer in place, with sources close to SBC saying it now wanted to "sever ties" with the investment firm. Waterberg Stirling had been registered in Bahrain in late 2024 by Dominic Hampshire, an adviser to Prince Andrew. The prince has had longstanding business connections with Bahrain. There are also strong links between the UK and Bahraini royal families, with King Hamad of Bahrain visiting King Charles in Windsor in November 2024. Mr Hampshire is the only named director of Waterberg Stirling on registration documents, but another person linked to the firm has been Adnan Sawadi. In July 2024, the entrepreneur Mr Sawadi gave a presentation in China showing the intended partnership between SBC and the successor to Pitch@Palace, Innovate Global, which he hoped would provide a bridge connecting Middle Eastern funding with projects in China. His speech singled out for praise Yang Tengbo - the man who later that year would be accused of being a Chinese spy, seeking influence over Prince Andrew, claims that Mr Yang has continued to reject as untrue. Andrew emails show contact with Epstein lasted beyond 2010 Prince Andrew says he 'ceased all contact' with alleged Chinese spy Andrew aide asks court to withhold testimony on alleged spy Sign up here to get the latest royal stories and analysis straight to your inbox every week with our Royal Watch newsletter. Those outside the UK can sign up here.
BBC News
01-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Prince Andrew's Pitch@Palace financial deal likely to collapse
A deal to take over the Duke of York's former start-up business network now seems to be in doubt, sources close to the negotiations have told the company Startupbootcamp (SBC) had held talks about buying Prince Andrew's Pitch@Palace network, a sale that could have provided him with a multi-million pound financial sources close to SBC say despite an announcement of an intended takeover, and talk of possible funding from Bahrain, nothing has been signed and no transactions have been carried comes as Prince Andrew's finances have been under intense scrutiny, with questions about how he can afford to live in his Royal Lodge mansion after he was cut off financially by King Charles. The prince has to find several million pounds per year to cover security costs and pay for the upkeep of the 19th Century, 30-room house, in Windsor. A lucrative source of income had appeared to be on the horizon, with SBC widely reported in the UK press to be in the process of buying the contacts and network of the Pitch@Palace February SBC announced its plans: "International investment group set to take over former Pitch@Palace global network."Pitch@Palace had been a Dragon's Den-style pitching competition for new business ideas, set up Prince Andrew in 2014 and run by him before he stepped down from royal duties in 2019. SBC had said it was attracted by Pitch@Palace's legacy of contacts, with 80,000 applications from 3,000 entrepreneurial companies in more than 60 Dutch firm, which has been running since 2010, helps to mentor and grow start-up businesses, particularly in the technology sector, with investments in 1,700 early-stage companies and running schemes in 27 countries.A takeover of the Pitch@Palace network had seemed imminent with SBC saying the partnership would be a "fantastic opportunity" and that it wanted to make use of a "great, but dormant" network of entrepreneurs. Jointly branded events had already been sources close to SBC now say that despite a meeting at Buckingham Palace and a positive sounding press release about seeing "immense value in the network", nothing was concluded. No deal with Prince Andrew was ever signed or closed, and no transactions were made, whether in Europe, the Middle East or China, according to SBC's side of negotiations. Prince Andrew has been approached for comment. The plans to take over the Pitch@Palace network had initially been presented as a project between SBC and its "strategic partner", an investment company in Bahrain, called Waterberg arrangement seems no longer in place, with sources close to SBC saying it now wanted to "sever ties" with the investment Stirling had been registered in Bahrain in late 2024 by Dominic Hampshire, an adviser to Prince Andrew. The prince has had longstanding business connections with are also strong links between the UK and Bahraini royal families, with King Hamad of Bahrain visiting King Charles in Windsor in November Hampshire is the only named director of Waterberg Stirling on registration documents, but another person linked to the firm has been Adnan July 2024, the entrepreneur Mr Sawadi gave a presentation in China showing the intended partnership between SBC and the successor to Pitch@Palace, Innovate Global, which he hoped would provide a bridge connecting Middle Eastern funding with projects in speech singled out for praise Yang Tengbo - the man who later that year would be accused of being a Chinese spy, seeking influence over Prince Andrew, claims that Mr Yang has continued to reject as untrue. Sign up here to get the latest royal stories and analysis straight to your inbox every week with our Royal Watch newsletter. Those outside the UK can sign up here.
