Nigel Farage and his partner, Laure Ferrari, have accumulated a mortgage-free property empire valued at more than £4 million over the past decade, according to a report by The Times. Despite claiming he was "skint" in 2017, Land Registry records reveal that Farage and Ferrari own at least five homes across Essex, Kent, and Surrey. All but one of these properties were purchased with cash since 2020, the year the UK officially left the European Union, with the other acquired in 2017 following Farage's separation from his second wife.
Registered Properties and Omissions
Farage, the Reform UK leader and MP for Clacton, has declared only two of these properties in the land and property section of the register of members' interests. This discrepancy has raised concerns among MPs and independent experts about the transparency of his real estate holdings. The parliamentary code of conduct requires MPs to register land or property they own, with exemptions for properties that serve as their residence or are occupied by family members. The rules aim to disclose any financial benefit that might reasonably influence an MP's actions, speeches, or votes.
One of the undeclared properties could be exempt because Farage's adult daughter, Isabelle, lives there. Another is owned through his company, Thorn in the Side Ltd, which also holds a second beachfront property that Farage has not declared. He has explained that one beachfront home was omitted because it is held by the company, but he has not clarified why the other company-owned property is also undeclared.
Detailed Property Portfolio
Farage's primary residence is a five-bedroom, four-bathroom Grade II listed home in Surrey, purchased for £1.42 million in May 2024. The property sits on 7.5 acres of ancient woodland and features a 530-square-foot living room, a cast-iron spiral staircase, a 200-yard private driveway, outbuildings, a covered pond, and a large annexe with a separate kitchen, living space, and bathroom. Farage has spent an estimated £350,000 on extensions since the purchase.
In Clacton, his Essex constituency, Ferrari owns a four-bedroom detached home bought for £885,000 in November 2024. Farage spends "half his week" there but does not declare it because it is legally owned by his partner. In Kent, Farage retains sole ownership of a home he once shared with his second wife, now occupied by their daughter. He also owns two beachfront properties on the Kent coast through Thorn in the Side Ltd. One, purchased for £575,000 in March 2023, is unoccupied, and Farage has obtained planning permission to replace it with a luxury three-storey newbuild costing over £1 million. The other, bought for £500,000 in October 2020, is a timber-clad two-storey house overlooking a beach where migrant arrivals have been reported.
Tax Efficiencies and Political Scrutiny
Holding property through a company offers tax advantages, allowing Farage to use corporate revenues—such as fees from reality TV appearances and media retainers—to buy property without paying the top-rate personal income tax that would apply if he extracted cash from the company. This arrangement has drawn criticism, with Labour accusing Farage of trying to hide his "property empire" from the public.
Nicholas Allen, a professor of politics at Royal Holloway, University of London, said: "The standards regime has long been clear that MPs should err on the side of caution when it comes to registering their interests. When they haven’t, they have opened themselves up to potential investigation." Labour Party chairwoman Anna Turley added: "Time and again, Nigel Farage thinks the rules don’t apply to him. The Reform leader needs to urgently clarify why he’s tried to hide his property empire from the public – just as he needs to explain why he tried to hide his secret £5 million ‘gift’ from a crypto billionaire."
Farage is already under investigation by the standards commissioner for failing to declare a £5 million gift from Thai-based billionaire Christopher Harborne. He maintains that the gift, received before he announced his candidacy for Parliament in 2024, was not related to politics and thus did not require declaration. Farage purchased his Surrey home for £1.42 million weeks after receiving the donation but denies any link, stating the purchase was funded by his fee for appearing on ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and was already in progress.
A Reform spokesperson said: "Everything has been properly declared and checked with the parliamentary registrar." A spokesman for Farage added: "Parliament’s regime is one of transparency, not prohibition. Mr Farage’s outside interests are properly recorded, and he continues to discharge his responsibilities as MP for Clacton."
