A councillor in Cornwall is under investigation over a property deal in which she made a 2,333% profit in less than 18 months.
Joan Vincent, an MBE, bought two acres of land and two derelict cottages from the china-clay manufacturer Imerys, Cornwall’s largest employer, for a total of £7,500 between 2001 and 2003.
Less than two years after buying the two plots, the Liberal Democrat councillor resold them as one property for £175,000 to a local couple who have since restored one of the cottages.
The transaction has been referred to the Standards Board after a complaint that, less than a month after the purchase, Mrs Vincent changed her mind and backed an application by Imerys for a controversial 100-bed hotel near St Austell.
References: The Times 06/01/07 page 23
