Snail farms run out of central London offices in £370k tax avoidance scheme

Boxes of snails have been found in empty central London offices by council officers investigating property owners allegedly avoiding tax.

Crates of gastropods were discovered in the West End after “unscrupulous traders” attempted to claim business rate exemptions.

The traders say they are running “snail farms”, Westminster City Council leader Councillor Adam Hug said.

But teams from the council's revenues team rumbled the scheme when they went to office addresses in Old Marylebone Road.

Under UK tax law, agricultural buildings and fish farms are exempt from paying business rates if they are viable commercial firms.

To date, the council says it has lost about £368,000 due to the avoidance scheme.

Four such farms have been liquidated by Westminster for non-payment of levies and the authority said it was trying to wind up a further two through a legal process.

Crates of snails at building on Old Marylebone Road (Westminster City Council)

Cllr Hug added: “This latest raid vividly illustrates an issue of business rates avoidance based on the ludicrous notion of snail farms which we have raised with central Government before.

“In the last fortnight we have discovered more boxes of snails in empty office buildings in Westminster so there is little sign of this racket slowing up.

“Rather than unscrupulous traders dropping on one avoidance scheme after another, it would be good to see a general clause on business rates avoidance and evasion which stops these kinds of activities in their tracks.

“As a local authority with limited resources, we enforce wherever we can.

“We will be on the trail of the snail racketeers or anyone else who thinks they can cheat the taxpayer.”

The “snail farm” scheme first appeared in Westminster about three years ago.

The council said it had also asked the Insolvency Service to consider banning the directors of these companies from any other future directorships.