James Dyson has switched his residency from Singapore to the UK, reversing a move he made about two years ago after his technology firm revealed plans to relocate its headquarters to the city-state.
The British billionaire now primarily lives in the UK, according to filings for companies Dyson controls including Weybourne, his family office. Similar filings cited Singapore for the entrepreneur’s residency in 2019 after his company said it would move its head office there as the maker of bagless vacuum cleaners focused increasingly on Southeast Asia.
“We do not comment on private family matters and nothing has changed in respect of the company,” said a Dyson spokesperson. “The structure of the group and the business rationale underpinning it are unaltered.”
Dyson, 73, is worth about US$29 billion through Dyson Holdings, the closely held company he founded in the UK three decades ago, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
He’s bolstered his presence in Singapore in the past two years, liquidating UK companies and hiring staff in Singapore for his family office. He paid about US$54 million in 2019 to acquire a penthouse in the city-state but sold it at a loss late last year.
Dyson, a Brexit supporter, faced criticism from UK lawmakers for relocating his company. The firm previously said it intends to hire more than 2,000 people in Southeast Asia over the coming years but said in July it will cut 900 of its 14,000 jobs globally due to the pandemic.
The company said this month it will “shortly” move into a new global headquarters at an old power station in Singapore.
