Disgraced Baroness Michelle Mone is permitted to retain around £15,000 weekly in rent from a mansion that is subject to a freezing order, recent reports indicate.
The former Conservative peer and her spouse had £75 million worth of assets frozen by court order two years ago as authorities investigated a deal related to supplying PPE. The freezing order has been adjusted to allow them to keep rental income from a £25 million property while investigations into the deal continue.
Situated in Belgravia, central London, the mansion is owned by an Isle of Man-based company linked to the business holdings of Mone’s husband, Doug Barrowman, aged 60. The firm acquired the Grade-II listed property for £9.25 million in December 2020.
Permission was granted for renovations on the Belgravia residence, including the addition of a cinema room and spa in the basement. Initially listed at £25 million, the property was on the market.
The amendment to the freezing order, as revealed by The Times, was sanctioned by Judge Tony Baumgartner, the Recorder of Westminster, in a purportedly confidential session at Southwark Crown Court. The judge specified that “Any rental income from this property is not restrained and there is no restriction on the use to which this income may be put.”
PPE Medpro, a consortium managed by Mr. Barrowman, secured a £122 million government contract for PPE supply during the pandemic. However, in October, a High Court ruling instructed the company to reimburse the funds due to contract breaches.
Baroness Mone and Mr. Barrowman have refuted any misconduct allegations and have not been charged.
PPE Medpro, reportedly owing the Department of Health a total of £148 million, entered liquidation at the Insolvency and Companies Court last month. Additionally, the company is said to owe HMRC £39 million. Mone criticized the High Court’s decision in October, describing it as “shocking but all too predictable” and portraying it as a “win for the Government in a case too significant to lose.”