GREG DYKE, the BBC Director-General, is now the owner of two championship-standard golf courses after a multimillion-pound deal with the computer billionaire Bill Gates.
The purchase of the Lambourne Golf Club in south Buckinghamshire by one of Mr Dyke’s companies raises the value of his property portfolio to about £15 million. He is already the major shareholder of the Dartmouth Golf and Country Club in Devon.
The BBC said Mr Dyke was a “passive investor” and had no say in the day-to-day management of his companies, but the Conservatives said that Mr Dyke should place his investments in an official blind trust.
Mr Dyke was forced to sell his extensive media interests when he took the BBC job in 2000, including £6 million of shares in its commercial rival, Granada.
The Dartmouth club, in which Mr Dyke owns about 80 per cent of the shares, has bought the Lambourne Club from Destination Europe, a consortium that includes Mr Gates.John Steven, Mr Dyke’s business partner, said: “Greg is a passive investor and he is not involved in the due diligence. He doesn’t get involved in executive decisions.”
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Mr Dyke, who was paid £464,000 by the BBC last year, must register his shareholdings in the corporation’s Declaration of Personal Interests form. He has registered his golf interest and retains shares in Marconi, Lloyds TSB and is an investor in the Ambassador Theatre Group.
John Whittingdale, the Shadow Culture Secretary, said: “The most sensible thing would be for Mr Dyke to put his interests in a blind trust, like a minister. That way there is no question the BBC could be influenced by any activities he is privately involved with.”