Revealed: Nigel Farage’s revamp of £1.4m country house after crypto tycoon’s £5m gift

Nigel Farage revamped his grade II-listed woodland home – after pocketing a crypto billionaire’s £5million. Reform UK’s leader is being investigated over the undeclared “security” cash from Thai-based Christopher Harborne. Now we have learned after Farage got the gift, he extended his £1.4million Surrey tree-lined pad. All of the planned works – which also included internal alterations – could cost up to £350,000, a property expert estimated. And the pad’s revamp could put its value at as much as £1.8million, the specialist added. We have discovered the extension has been built, although it is unclear if all internal works are completed. Footage on video platform Cameo, which Farage has used to earn cash filming personalised messages, appears to show him in the extended part of the house. Our revelation comes after we discovered Farage is set to spend up to £700,000 on a Grand Designs-style makeover of his Kent beach pad, one of four properties he owns. The Labour Party said: “The list of unanswered questions around Nigel Farage’s finances grows by the day. It’s high time the Reform Leader was straight with the public and put all the facts on the table over his secret £5million ‘gift’ from his Thai-based crypto billionaire backer. "This scandal isn’t going away and Farage’s attempts to deflect attention from it won’t wash with the British public. It’s become crystal clear that Farage isn’t on the side of working people – he’s just in it for himself.” Last month, it emerged Farage purchased the Surrey house in cash in May 2024, weeks after getting the money from Mr Harborne. Reform said the offer and purchase process started before the gift. Planning permission was later obtained to build a new extension on the secluded property and make other changes. The plans at Farage’s property, set in multiple acres of land, featured a ground floor extension, changes to windows and doors, internal alterations, a chimney removal and a log burner. Proposed drawings show the property was due to have two bedrooms with en suite toilets, a dressing room and lounge, as well as a kitchen with a hidden door leading to a utility room. The property was given both planning permission and listed building consent by a council in April last year. A statement in support of the application explained: “Firstly, the existing extension is to remain. The only demolition proposed is to remove the rear wall of this extension to allow the knock through into the new extension proposed. “Secondly, the extension proposed is very small in size and only measures 54m3… It is a modest single storey addition that continues the existing roof of the late 1930’s extension out to the rear… “The proposal is within the limits of what would be deemed acceptable from a greenbelt point of view also (40% increase), resulting in a volume increase of just 7.8% over and above the existing dwelling (because the extension was built in the late 1930’s, this part of the property is also counted as original from a greenbelt volume point of view).” A property expert told the Mirror: “Based on the planning documents, I would describe this as a relatively modest physical extension but with a potentially expensive refurbishment element because the property is Grade II-listed, unusual, rural/secluded and likely to require specialist detailing. “The extension itself is only 54 cubic metres. At a normal single-storey height, that is likely to equate to roughly 20–23 sq m of additional floor area. For a listed property in Surrey, I would expect that element alone to cost in the region of £100,000–£125,000, depending on specification, access, structural works and finishes. “The wider works — internal reconfiguration, changes to windows and doors, chimney removal, new flue/log burner, making good and associated listed-building detailing — could easily add a further £175,000–£225,000 if done properly. "On that basis... I would estimate the total cost of the approved renovation and extension works at around £270,000–£350,000 including VAT and normal contractor preliminaries.” The expert added: "I would not assume the works add pound-for-pound value. They are more likely to make the property more saleable and comfortable than to create a large development profit.” Separately, retrospective approval was obtained last year to convert a detached garage at the property into a gym and study. Another statement submitted to the council last year explained: “...when the current owner moved into the property, the existing garage had already been converted into a habitable space and benefitted from a bathroom. The current owner has decorated the space since moving in but uses it only as a private study / gym.” Farage is being probed by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner over whether he fell foul of Commons rules by not declaring the £5million from Mr Harborne. Reform has claimed it was “a personal, unconditional gift” with no rules broken. The Clacton MP said the money was for his security, later describing it as a “reward” for Brexit campaigning. Farage’s spokesman last month said the politician had paid for the Surrey house using his fee from appearing in I’m a Celeb. However, the claim was challenged by his firm’s accounts appearing to show the fee from the ITV reality programme remained on the company’s balance sheet after the property purchase. Asked about the source of funds for the house, Reform told the FT: “Nigel has multiple sources of income, as you can see from his parliamentary register.” Asked by the Mirror how Farage funded the revamp of his Surrey house, his spokesman declined to comment.