Paisley Jnr defends £62k rent for office
First Minister Ian Paisley and his junior minister son were last night embroiled in a new controversy over the cost of their constituency office in Ballymena.
A leaked Assembly document revealed the Paisleys are claiming 62,500 annually from the public purse – split evenly between them – to rent premises at 9-11 Church Street.
The next highest of the 106 MLAs – some of whom claim no rent at all – is the DUP's Nigel Dodds who claims 20,000 to run two offices.
Mr Paisley Jnr last night defended the large sum which he said was based on market values at the height of the property boom.
He also sought to clarify questions over ownership.
The News Letter has established, after inspecting Land Registry deeds, that the constituency office belongs to a company called Sarcon (No. 250) Limited.
Further document checks at Companies House listed Seymour Sweeney as the director of Sarcon (No. 250) Limited.
Mr Sweeney's relationship with the Paisleys, his DUP membership, and their lobbying for him to be granted approval to build the new Giant's Causeway Visitors' Centre, has been under scrutiny for months.
The north Antrim developer could not be contacted last night and there is no suggestion he has done anything improper or unusual.
Mr Paisley Jnr, however, insisted Mr Sweeney was no longer a director and has been replaced.
He said the businessman had resigned in the run-up to the purchase of the listed building.
The North Antrim MLA stated: "I can confirm that a company called Sarcon 250 owns the DUP offices at 9-11 Church Street and has done so since the summer of 2007.
"During the run-up to the purchase, for a period of weeks, Mr Seymour Sweeney, as a member of the DUP, gave advice on the purchase of the office and became a director of the company to ensure the purchase could be completed.
"He subsequently resigned before any rent was due, under the lease, in favour of a new director, as it was never intended that he would have any further role or be in receipt of any benefit.
"The rent paid for the property reflects the then current market value on the property."
Mr Paisley added that he took expert advice from a "professional agent" in relation to the level of rent.
He concluded: "This acquisition is a long-term commitment by the DUP to the constituency. The rent has been validated by the Assembly authorities."
He went on to defend the 62,500 annual rent. The News Letter has discovered that the most recent rates valuation (carried out by Land and Property Services in 2001) for 9-11
Church Street, set the rental annual value of the property at 16,400. Mr Paisley Jnr said the building had been refurbished, changed from an openplan shop into a modern office development, and a rental agreement signed at the peak of the property boom.
Sarcon 250 is understood to be a "shelf company" which has been listed with Companies House for some time. A shelf company is essentially created in name and then held (on the shelf) for later use, as and when needed.
It means a company is fully formed, with nominal shareholders, and available instantly for operation. There are a series of Sarcon companies operating or which have been in operation and are now closed down, each with a different number.
Sarcon (No. 250) Limited appears to have become operational in May 2007, with the property at Church Street bought in July 2007.
See: DUP Pair top of the MLAs' rental league.
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