A former British Prime Minister has borrowed a £4.2 million mortgage from the bank that he advises, the Daily Mail reports.
Tony Blair, who served as British Prime Minister for ten years, received the loan from American financial firm JP Morgan, who pay the former Labour leader £2.5 million a year for his advice.
The sum has been secured against the Blair family home in Connaught Square, central London, which was purchased in 2004 for £3.65 million.
Since then, the Blairs have extended the property after buying the mews behind it, more than doubling the central London home’s value in the process to an estimated £7.5 million.
Tony Blair’s office refused to comment on the purpose of the loan, branding it a “private matter”, reports the title.
In the past he has taken out mortgages on his properties to help fund further investments, and sources suggest he may be looking for an overseas home to add to his portfolio.
One said: “It would not surprise me if Blair was hunting for a place in the sun, somewhere like the Caribbean or Tuscany.
“He doesn’t ski, so you can rule out a chalet.” Mr Blair’s £17 million property portfolio already includes homes in central London, in the country and properties for each of his three elder children.
His office has also denied that he received “preferential” terms from the bank, despite the former Prime Minister’s involvement in a number of high-profile deals.
It emerged recently that the former statesman helped to mediate a deal between commodity trader Glencore and mining company Xstrata, on which JP Morgan is a key advisor.
Despite Mr Blair’s involvement in the deal being described as “separate”, he has allegedly earned a fee of £620,000 for easing the progress of the merger, with a seven-figure success-fee supposedly believed to follow shortly afterwards.
Since leaving office in 2007, Mr Blair’s services as a consultant have led to him earning close to £20 million a year.
A spokesman for Mr Blair’s office told the title: “The mortgage has nothing at all to do with Mr Blair’s work for JP Morgan and any suggestion of preferential treatment is incorrect.”
4 Comments
Colin
Damn it! I had offered him bridging terms and had no response. Now I know why!
Shaks
Lets hope it was a compliant sale then. The loan size would mean he declares annual net profits or income in region of £16 million plus. Somehow I find this hard to believe. When he's finally tried and executed for war crimes it will all come out in the wash.
Paris Claims
If he's earning £20 million a year why does he need to borrow £4.2 million? Has he been taking lessons from Gordon The Ruiner?
Janice
That could be a payment for services disguised as a loan, that would make it tax free and without question.