Dan Labbad stood before MPs on Monday defending his salary raises

The chief of the Crown Estate was grilled on his significant salary rises in front of MPs yesterday.

Dan Labbad appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday, quizzed on how his starting salary of £517,000 in 2019 had multiplied to around £2.3million by 2026.

The Australian businessman told the committee his salary was "a matter for others" and refused to comment on the details of his role.

The Crown Estate saw its operating profits decline this year, falling to £1.2billion compared with £1.4billion 12 months earlier, and it witnessed a dramatic decline in its revenue account profits, falling 58 per cent to £487million from a record £1.15billion the previous year.

Treasury payments were slashed by more than half as a consequence, marking the lowest profit figure since 2023 for the King's property management company.

The sharp fall stemmed primarily from two factors. There has been a diminished income from offshore wind option fees, which are responsible for much of the profits.

Additionally, the organisation retained £886million for forthcoming investment projects, marking an increase of gross revenues kept back for investment from 27 per cent to 60 per cent.

Clive Betts, the Labour MP for Sheffield South East, probed Mr Labbad in the PAC on Monday, noting the company's administrative expenses had risen from £70million to £88million in the last financial year, before turning to Mr Labbad's salary.

"I can't think of many public sector jobs where the pay has increased by five times in the last six or seven years," he said.

"Would you manage to persuade us that your workload in both amount and difficulty has changed a lot since 2019?"

Mr Labbad said it was "a matter for others," adding: "I can't comment on difficulty or comparable comparisons to what has happened previously."

Bluntly, Mr Betts replied: "You can't tell us about your job?"

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The inquiry into the Crown Estate came after it was revealed that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor had been raking in a private income through subletting royal accommodation – while paying peppercorn rent himself.

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie were also found to be living in royal accommodation rent-free, as the King's private funds cover their below-market rate accommodation costs.

On Monday, Mr Labbad defended Mr Mountbatten-Windsor's rental agreements, telling MPs: "Those potential income streams were taken into account in determining what best value was at the time."

He maintained subletting was "reasonably common" in the property sector for long leasehold agreements.

According to the lease terms, Mr Mountbatten-Windsor paid £1million for the lease itself and was subsequently charged "one peppercorn" of rent annually "if demanded".

The agreement also obligated him to spend £7.5million on refurbishments, which were finished in 2005.

Mr Labbad explained to the committee: "In the case of Royal Lodge, the £7.5million in refurbishment costs, we were able to then take that money that we would otherwise have to spend, and invest in other things."

When asked how much Mr Mountbatten-Windsor earned from subletting the cottages, Mr Labbad said he did not possess that information.

However, James Chalmers, the King's keeper of the privy purse and treasurer, said the Royal Household could obtain the figures, insisting: "We can get it."