Daily Mail: Duke of Northumberland 'wrecking' farmers' livelihoods with rent hikes
He is the aristocratic owner of the castle featured in Harry Potter.
And although his fortune is said to be around £320million, it seems the Duke of Northumberland wants more.
Ralph Percy, 56, has been accused of wrecking the livelihoods of tenant farmers after his land agents demanded massive rent increases.
Some have been asked to pay up to 98 per cent more or face eviction.
The Duke, whose son George was last year rumoured to be dating Pippa Middleton, owns some 132,000 acres of land.
His 1,000-year-old castle at Alnwick, which featured as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films, is known as the Windsor of the North.
But despite his wealth, it emerged yesterday that the Duke’s Estate is conducting a crippling round of rent reviews on its farmers in Northumberland.
Read the full story here
Read more from Wealth Wednesday
Don't miss out on the best of Spear's articles - sign up to the Spear's weekly newsletter
Unbillable Hours
Our specialists solve your HNW problems (gratis!)
Q
In this new anti-tax-avoidance era, when so many tax reliefs have been withdrawn, I've heard that investing in a Business Property Renovation Allowance scheme is one of the few remaining good opportunities for maxing your tax position. Is it true that you can get up to 100 per cent tax relief on the amount invested? And what exactly are these schemes? How do they work? What are the upsides? Downsides?
A
In this climate, it is a relief to see one potentially attractive tax allowance come through unscathed from recent criticism
Spear's Wire
