Michelle Mone makes 'millions' after selling Glasgow townhouses

The Scottish Mail on Sunday reports that Baroness Mone sold a £19m London townhouse and £6.8m Lady M Yacht last year.
It comes after Glasgow-born Mone and her billionaire husband Doug Barrowman had £75m worth of assets frozen by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
The couple are at the centre of a fraud probe over the firm PPE Medpro, controlled by Barrowman, that was awarded £203m worth of UK Government contracts through a 'VIP lane' during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In November 2023, Mone finally admitted her involvement with PPE Medpro for the first time, after years of denying any links to the company.
It then emerged Barrowman was reportedly paid at least £65m from PPE Medpro's profits, later transferring £29m into a trust for Mone and her three adult children.
Several properties were frozen under the Proceeds of Crime Act in 2023.
And now, Mone has reportedly sold her Glasgow homes. The Mail on Sunday reports that there is no suggestion any of the property sales breached any existing orders put in place by the NCA.
One townhouse in Glasgow's plush Park Circus was bought by Barrowman's Knox business group for £1.7m in 2020. The couple have now reportedly sold this to a photographer for £2m last year.
Another nearby townhouse was sold for £2.8m, allegedly to a Scottish musician, who was not named. It was bought in July 2020 for just over £1.4m.
A spokesperson for the NCA confirmed an investigation is still ongoing into PPE Medpro.
'The NCA opened an investigation in May 2021 into suspected criminal offences committed in the procurement of PPE contracts by PPE Medpro,' they said.
'This ongoing investigation remains a priority for the agency.
READ MORE: Scottish independence 'already begun as UK political culture diverges'
'Investigations must pursue all reasonable lines of enquiry. In serious economic crime investigations these lines of enquiry can be incredibly complex – from worldwide financial tracing exercises to the need to examine large volumes of digital material.
'In such cases it can take considerable time to ensure that a thorough, independent and objective investigation is conducted.'
PPE Medpro is also being sued by the Department of Health and Social Care, amid claims that the gown supplied by the firm were not fit for use.
We previously told how Mone accused the NCA of "smearing [her] as a criminal".

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The National

an hour ago

• The National

The numbers prove the world is ignoring those who talk Scotland down

Despite persistent global headwinds, recent data from EY highlighted Scotland's attractiveness to global investment, and comparatively greater resilience in the face of general economic turbulence. EY's data places Scotland firmly as the UK's top destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) outside of London – for the tenth year in a row – while Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow remain among the top six UK cities for FDI projects. Although the total number of new projects in Scotland fell 4.9% from record figures in 2023, that number is marginal compared to a drop of 13% in the rest of the UK, 14% in France and 17% in Germany. READ MORE: Scottish Government announces £23.5 million for active travel programmes Despite a slight dip in the total number of projects in 2024 (135 projects, down from a record 142 in 2023), Scotland's share of overall UK projects actually increased to 15.8% (from 14.4% in 2023). This shows Scotland's relative strength compared to broader declines in FDI across the UK and Europe. EY's survey of global investors found that a quarter of those planning to invest in the UK are targeting Scotland, maintaining the country's long-standing position in investors' eyes as the UK's preferred FDI destination outside of London. I recently visited the Glasgow offices of Canadian IT and business consulting services firm CGI Inc, which employs around 750 people across its Glasgow, Edinburgh, Borders and Aberdeen offices, and has nearly 100,000 employees globally. CGI Inc is one of the many thriving international businesses choosing to call Scotland home. The fascinating ZeroAvia, hailing from the US (and developing full hydrogen-electric aircraft engines), is another new resident, along with the Australian not-for-profit ticketing hub Humanitix, who recently opened an office in Edinburgh. 2025 is bringing further significant investment and exciting projects to Scotland. I realise some may be wondering why this is important, or what Scotland's leading place in FDI means. How does FDI benefit the people of Scotland? FDI plays a crucial role in Scotland's economy, contributing significantly to job creation, economic growth, innovation and exports. Quite simply, foreign-owned companies in Scotland, although representing a smaller percentage of all businesses, have a disproportionately large impact on the economy. READ MORE: Scottish Government launches new 'milestone' plan for disability equality These companies account for a substantial share of employment in Scotland, contributing significantly to job creation. These jobs often offer higher average wages than those in domestically owned businesses. Foreign-owned businesses contribute a disproportionately high percentage to Scotland's Gross Value Added (GVA), indicating that these companies possess high productivity and make an outsized economic impact. Inward investors have outstripped domestic businesses in investing in business research and development spending, which fosters innovation and technological advancement within the nation. These innovators also generate a large portion of the total business turnover in Scotland and become major drivers behind Scottish exports. FDI can bring new skills and management practices, which can 'spill over' and benefit domestic Scottish businesses through supply-chain opportunities, hiring and knowledge sharing. Geopolitical headwinds are clearly affecting investor confidence globally. Scotland's FDI resilience in the face of this crisis of confidence is an incredible endorsement of Scotland as a destination for global investment. Scotland's ability to maintain high project numbers and even increase its share of UK projects comes against a backdrop of a marked decline in FDI across Europe and the UK overall. READ MORE: Scottish Labour drop below Alba and Greens as by-election results called A huge amount of work, across both the private and public sectors, goes into securing these projects, which are vital for economic growth, job creation and bringing benefits across our towns and cities. It's a privilege to work with Team Scotland to secure these global opportunities, and the Scottish Government will continue to work with business partners to build our country's reputation as a world-class location for investment. In this digital and hyper-connected world, the continued pursuit of strategic inward investment will propel Scotland towards being a fairer and more prosperous nation. It's also a sign that investors from abroad don't listen to the relentless whingeing of the opposition in the Scottish Parliament about Scotland. Where the opposition see weakness, international allies see strengths.

Daily Mirror

an hour ago

• Daily Mirror

'This is awful' say shoppers as Iceland closes supermarket store today

Iceland is closing its Margate, Kent, store today and will also shut up shop in Inverness, Scotland, on July 12 Iceland is closing one of its stores today - with another branch set to follow shortly after. The frozen food supermarket is closing its Margate, Kent, store. Meanwhile, Iceland will also shut up shop in Inverness, Scotland, on July 12. The grocer has said affected staff will be offered alternative roles within the company where possible. ‌ Shoppers have reacted to the news on social media. One said: 'Wow they been there as long as I can remember they one of the original shops in that area such a shame.' ‌ Another commented: 'This is awful all the elderly people that use this and Morrisons to do the weekly shops will now suffer once again.' A third said: 'Such a shame I remember when it opened.' Iceland, which has over 900 stores across the UK, has not confirmed the reason behind the closures. The supermarket has closed a handful of stores over the last few months, including its Welling branch in London. Its shops in Shenley Road, Borehamwood and Alphington Road Retail Park in Exeter have also been shut down. But it isn't all bad news. The retailer has also opened new stores. Last month, Iceland opened a new city centre supermarket in Derby and another shop at Victoria Chambers on London Road Earlier this year, the company announced plans to open 20 Iceland and Food Warehouse stores, and the supermarket has also opened a new 500,000 square foot £100million distribution centre in Warrington. ‌ The Omega Park Site in Warrington - which opened in partnership with GXO in February - supplies around 350 Iceland stores across the north west of England, the Scottish borders and Wales. It comes after Poundland confirmed 68 stores will close as part of a major restructure. The budget chain will also seek rent reductions at a number of other locations. On top of this, Poundland will also look to close its distribution centre at Darton, South Yorkshire and its national distribution centre at Bilston in the West Midlands in early 2026. Poundland will also stop selling frozen food, and its website will stop taking orders, although shoppers will still be able to browse products and deals online. The restructuring plan, which would put more than 1,000 jobs at risk, would need to be approved by the High Court before it can go ahead. Poundland, which is owned by Pepco Group, currently has 792 stores and employs around 16,000 people. It expects its total store number to eventually be reduced to between 650 to 700, meaning further closures could be announced in the future as leases expire.

Powys County Times

4 hours ago

• Powys County Times

Creative industries to get £380m boost ahead of industrial strategy launch

Britain's film, music and video game industries are set to receive millions of pounds of investment as the Government seeks to ensure the UK's place as a creative superpower. The investment, announced by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, will see £380 million spent on a range of projects intended to double private investment in the creative industries. Ms Nandy said the investment would 'boost regional growth, stimulate private investment, and create thousands more high-quality jobs'. The figure includes £25 million for research into cutting-edge technologies such as the virtual avatars used in Abba Voyage, and £75 million to support the film industry. It will also see £30 million put towards backing start-up video games companies – an industry worth billions of pounds to the UK – and another £30 million for the music industry, including an increase in funding for grassroots venues. Another £150 million will be split between the mayors of Manchester, Liverpool, the West Midlands, West Yorkshire, the North East and the West of England to support creative businesses in their regions. The announcement comes as the Government prepares to publish its industrial strategy next week, billed as a 10-year, multibillion-pound plan to back certain sectors and secure growth for the UK economy. The creative industries are set to be one of the winners, with a plan for the sector expected to be published alongside the wider industrial strategy. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: 'The UK's creative industries are world-leading and have a huge cultural impact globally, which is why we're championing them at home and abroad as a key growth sector in our modern industrial strategy.' But earlier this month, the Government also rejected a planning application for a major new film studio near Holyport, in Berkshire, over its impact on the green belt. The £380 million has been welcomed by the industry, with the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (Bectu) saying it was a 'show of commitment to the sector'. But Bectu chief Philippa Childs said creative workers would also be looking for 'sustained support' from the Government as the sector 'recovers from a series of external shocks'. Recent years have seen the sector rocked by Covid, the cost-of-living crisis and concerns about the impact of AI and Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs on films made outside the US. Conservative shadow culture secretary Stuart Andrew accused Labour of threatening the 'very survival' of the creative industries. He said: 'From their national insurance jobs tax to their business rates hike, Labour are pushing creative businesses to the brink, and we now know that Rachel Reeves has a secret plan to raise taxes – meaning things will only get worse. 'Labour must recognise that their economic mismanagement is dealing a devasting blow to the sector.'