Ashcroft's £40m shares bonanza

FORMER Tory Party Treasurer Lord Ashcroft has raised about £40m from selling shares in Tyco, the US-listed conglomerate in which he has a substantial stake.

It is the latest in a series of disposals by Ashcroft that could net the Inland Revenue a multi-million pound windfall.

Ashcroft, a former tax exile who regards the central American state of Belize as his home, had to relocate to Britain and make himself eligible for UK taxes when he took his seat in the Lords just over a year ago.

He has since been involved in a public slanging match with International Development Secretary Clare Short over tax concessions granted to Ashcroft companies by the government of Belize.

Ashcroft, who contributed £1m a year to the Conservative Party while he was Treasurer, has accused Short of 'trying to get' him over attempts to reform taxation rules in Belize.

All told, Ashcroft has sold shares in Bermuda-based Tyco worth about $160m (£110m) over the past year. In the latest deal, he sold 1m shares last month at about $60 each.

Ashcroft owned 6,469,042 Tyco shares as of early last year, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He has subsequently sold 2.5m shares, leaving him with a tranche worth about $1.9bn (£1.3bn).

In selling Tyco shares when he did, at prices ranging from $58 to $69, Ashcroft showed an instinct for avoiding price drops apparent throughout his investing career. Tyco shares, dogged by recent concerns over its earnings and outlook, have since fallen to $43.

Ashcroft, whose main holding company, Carlisle, has been hit by the recession in the US, has been a consistent seller of Tyco shares, fuelling rumours that he would use some of the money to take Carlisle private.

Carlisle, which provides staffing, cleaning and security services to corporate and municipal clients, including some Hollywood studios, has seen its shares lose 70% of their value in the past year.

Carlisle's tax-free status in Belize has reportedly saved the company £13.6m since 1997. Short has said she was trying to help the poor in Belize and was not targeting Ashcroft. A spokesman for Ashcroft said: 'I'm not going to say anything about his tax affairs. They are a private matter.'