Reform donor Christopher Harborne tied to Guernsey property

The Guernsey properties identified by the BBC as linked to Harborne had a combined transaction value of more than £16m, which was calculated using purchase prices recorded in conveyance deeds and cadastre reports.

Away from the Guernsey seafront, the trail leads uphill to Hauteville, a road in St Peter Port, famous for the home of 19th Century French author Victor Hugo.

Conveyance deeds and planning applications submitted to the States of Guernsey connect Harborne and companies linked to him to three neighbouring properties.

Two of the properties were bought in his own name and he later transferred one to a BVI company for £1.

The third was bought through a company registered in the US state of Wyoming, where company ownership can be difficult to establish from public records.

Planning application documents for one of the properties list Sherriff Global Private Limited as the architect’s client. The formal planning permission names the Wyoming company as applicant.

The application stands out for what is proposed inside the house, with drawings showing an office and an eight-person boardroom.

Below ground there is a wellness suite with a hyperbaric chamber, sauna and cold plunge.

A lift, step-free access and disabled access bathrooms is also proposed.

The planning applications show the property was designed around long-term personal use, beside two other properties also linked to Harborne.

In the proposals, the architect explained his client was an “avid exerciser” and wanted the property to be to be usable throughout their “entire lifespan”.

The BBC asked his representatives whether he was planning to move to the Hauteville properties but received no response.