Emile Heskey has reportedly been ordered to pay nearly £200,000 in legal costs following his battle with HMRC.
It was reported in January that the former England striker was involved in a celebrity investment scheme that was at the centre of a £1.6billion tax dispute.
According to The Sun, Heskey, who scored 110 goals in 516 Premier League appearances, was ruled to pay £194,794.42 in legal fees by specialist costs judge Mark Whelan at a hearing on Tuesday – who added the figure was ‘reasonable and proportionate’.
Barrister Daniel Laking, acting for HMRC, states that 15 penalty notices were issued against the 46-year-old in 2005 and was due to face a trial in the High Court in 2019 after he had been hit by a bankruptcy petition that was filed by HMRC.
It is understood that the trial did not take place after Heskey, who would play professionally for Liverpool, Leicester and Aston Villa, admitted that he was liable for the debt owed.
Emile Heskey (pictured) has reportedly been ordered to pay £200,000 in legal fees
It comes after the former England striker was involved in a celebrity investment scheme that was involved in a £1.6bn tax dispute
The Sun claims that 15 penalty notices were issued against him in 2005 and was due to face a trial in the High Court in 2019
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The Sun adds that Heskey was not present at the hearing and also wasn’t represented. Interest has not been included in the calculation, meaning there is speculation that the ex-footballer could pay more.
The celebrity investment scheme was reportedly run by Ingenious Media – a financing company that has backed over 60 films. Bankers, sports stars and celebrities including Andrew Lloyd Webber are suing the London-based firm over the film-related tax relief scheme.
The scheme required investors to stake a minimum of £50,000, with dozens of bankers from Goldman Sachs, Lloyds, HSBC and Credit Suisse suing the finance firm claiming that they were misled.
David Beckham, Gary Lineker, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher are other stars from the footballing world who are thought to have been involved.
The report was published after the 46-year-old, who enjoyed a glittering career winning the FA Cup, Europa League and four EFL Cups, was found to have defaulted on £92,000 of tax from his work as a football development officer between 2017 and 2020. Heskey retired from professional football in 2016 and would return to Leicester to work as the head of women’s football development.
He would incur a penalty fee of £42,000 as a result.
It also comes as a celebrity bar and restaurant, which was funded by Heskey and run by his wife, Chantelle (right), was wound up by the courts
The restaurant in Alderly Edge, called Parea, was wound up by the courts with debts of £163,000
It also comes as a celebrity bar and restaurant, which was funded by Heskey and run by his wife, Chantelle, was wound up by the courts.
The restaurant, known as Parea, was located in the affluent area of Alderley Edge, just south of Manchester, had had incurred £163,000 in debts.
Co-owner James Golden confirmed the decision to close the restaurant, telling Manchester Evening News: ‘We closed the bar as our lease was up for renewal and the village had gone very quiet. We have recently launched in Liverpool and are opening in Spinningfields shortly.’
Documents lodged at Companies House showed that a winding-up order had been issued, subsequently closing the venue which opened in 2018.
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