The company formed to acquire a showpiece DUP centre at taxpayers' expense has posted a profit — despite public assurances from Ian Paisley Jnr that it was non-profit-making.

And new evidence has emerged on the extent to which Assembly rental payments claimed for the property are above the market rate.

The premises at 9-11 Church Street, Ballymena, are the main constituency office base of ex-First Minister Ian Paisley and his politician son.

They are owned by a DUP-linked company established in 2007 to buy a new office and repay the mortgage through MLA rental expenses.

Mr Paisley Jnr has maintained that the landlord company does not make a profit.

But its newly-filed accounts for its first year of operation — 2007/08 — record a profit of £3,857.

That's on top of it acquiring a sizeable property through publicly-funded rental expenses. These payments are claimed through Assembly office expenses and repay the firm's mortgage.

The company has just changed its name from Sarcon 250 to Ballymena Advice Centre Ltd.

Defending the rental claims last year, Mr Paisley Jnr said: “There is no profit for Sarcon from the rental payments. It goes directly to the bank to furnish the mortgage.”

A recent Assembly report on the arrangements recorded a similar assurance from the DUP MLA, stating: “The company did not make a profit and the rental actually charged was that necessary to service the bank loan used to purchase the property.”

That report, by Stormont Standards Commissioner Tom Frawley, raised questions on the rent being paid to the company by the Assembly.

The combined annual figure of £57,200 rent claimed by the Paisleys has made the property substantially more expensive than any other MLA constituency office.

Mr Frawley concluded that the total was “significantly in excess of what might be regarded as a normal market rent”.

He found that no rules had been broken, noting that the current MLA expenses rulebook does not cover rental values or office sizes.

A review of the rulebook has since been launched, partly as a result of Mr Frawley's review.

The Belfast Telegraph has now obtained a copy of an independent valuation obtained by the Standards Commissioner as part of his examination.

It was provided by the Government's District Valuer for Ballymena, an official within the Department of Finance.

The District Valuer estimated the rental market value of 9-11 Church Street to be in the region of £26,000 to £30,000 a year — which is up to £31,000 less than the annual sum that has been paid to Sarcon 250 by taxpayers.

The valuation, released under Freedom of Information legislation, was based on an external examination conducted in June 2008. It noted that the former shop premises had been “extensively renovated and modernised to provide good office accommodation” and assumed that improvements were being reflected in the rent being charged.

The District Valuer also stated: “Over the years and with the advent of the two shopping centres this area has declined significantly with regards to trading potential.”

Mr Frawley's report contained apparently conflicting advice on the Sarcon rent from another Department of Finance official, the Commissioner of Valuation for Northern Ireland.

It quoted him stating that the arrangement was “understandable” in commercial terms as Sarcon 250 “needed a return” on investment in fitting out the premises for office use.

No figures were cited in Mr Frawley's report on fitting-out costs incurred by the company.

Sarcon 250's newly-published first accounts have now shed some light on this question.

They indicate that the company incurred costs of £610,049 in the year — including property purchase and investment in fixtures and fittings.

The accounts further suggest that expenditure on fixtures and fittings came to £87,890 in the year.

Rental income of £57,200 a year on an outlay of £610,049 would represent an annual return of 9.37%.

According to expert advice obtained by the Belfast Telegraph, this would be an “exceptional” return.

The DUP and Mr Paisley Jnr did not respond to Belfast Telegraph queries on the Sarcon accounts and the District Valuer's findings.