The company, Havisham Properties, is being scrutinized to buy 11 properties for the Knockroon development in Scotland – originally acquired as a farm by Prince Charles when he bought the nearby mansion, Dumfries House. The homes, understood to have been bought between 2012 and 2017 for £1.7 million, were originally planned as an eco-village with the aim of attracting jobs and revitalizing the former mining community. A spokesman for the Scottish Office of the Charity Regulator said: “We can confirm that the Havisham Group’s work and property transactions relating to the Knockroon development in Ayrshire form part of our overall investigation, the work on which is ongoing.” It follows claims published in the Sunday Times that Prince Charles is gentrifying businessman and Havisham Properties owner Lord Brownlow after accepting millions of pounds in donations from him. The Tory peer, who in 2013 was appointed as a trustee of the Prince’s Foundation, which runs Dumfries House, helped rescue Prince Charles from the failed eco-village project after just 31 of 770 homes were built due to a lack of demand. It was reported that the prince hoped the project would help repay the £20m loan he took out to buy Dumfries House. David Brownlow rose to prominence after funding the renovation of Boris Johnson’s flat. Photo: David Brownlow Charity In 2018, after Brownlow, 58, reportedly completed the purchase of the unwanted properties and resigned as trustee, the prince presented him with a royal honor at Buckingham Palace. The Tory peer, who rose to prominence after funding the controversial renovation of Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat, has been made a Commander of the Victorian Order (CVO). “Lord Brownlow was appointed CVO in 2018 in recognition of his role as chairman of the charity The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community,” a spokesman for the Prince’s Foundation told the newspaper. It follows reports that the Prince of Wales will no longer accept large cash donations for his charities after facing criticism over claims he personally received €3m in cash from a Qatari billionaire sheikh. The money was reportedly delivered in a small suitcase, a cover and a Fortnum & Mason carrier bag. The cash was handed over to the Prince of Wales Charitable Fund by Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, who was Qatar’s prime minister between 2007 and 2013.
