Quintessentially, a concierge service set up by Prince William's friend Ben Elliot, is under fire for helping clients move assets to the notorious British Virgin Islands tax haven
A luxury lifestyle company founded by the Duchess of Cornwall's nephew, Ben Elliot, is under fire for offering to help Britain's richest individuals avoid tax by shifting their affairs to the offshore haven of the British Virgin Islands.
Quintessentially, founded 10 years ago by Elliot and two associates, calls itself a private members' club with a 24-hour "concierge" service providing anything from fine wines to opera tickets, hotel bookings, art advice and wedding planning to thousands of rich individuals. Celebrity users reportedly include Scarlett Johansson, Sir Richard Branson and Gwyneth Paltrow.
A network of 23 partnership firms in 56 countries, Quintessentially claims an annual turnover of £50m and profits of £7.85m. But in a new venture, it has set out plans to found Quintessentially BVI for "facilitating financial services opportunities" in the Caribbean enclave, including advice on registering companies, establishing offshore trusts and applying for flags of convenience for yachts. "If people want to set up companies in the British Virgin Islands, we can assist there," said Elliot, who described offshore arrangements as "a sensible way to look after your assets".
Elliot brushed aside questions about tax avoidance, describing offshoring assets as something that has "happened since the beginning of time". Elliot, a friend of Prince William, has close links to the royal family – the Duchess of Cornwall visited Quintessentially's club in Soho after it opened last year.
The firm's BVI plan was criticised by John Christensen, director of the Tax Justice Network, who said: "It's just become the norm that wealthy people don't see themselves as part of society and aren't prepared to contribute like the rest of society in paying tax."
Christensen described the islands as a classic tax haven: "It's a very secretive place and it's very popular with high net worth individuals who want to avoid tax. It's very poor in terms of international co-operation in financial investigations … it's a stereotypical offshore jurisdiction."
Quintessentially BVI is promoted on its website and has been extolled by Elliot in an interview. But after enquiries by the Observer, the firm played down the venture, saying it would work instead with a local company in the islands rather than setting up its own Caribbean business "after reviewing demand".