Gary Lineker, the former England footballer turned broadcaster, has strategically placed his television production company, Goalhanger Films, into voluntary liquidation ahead of upcoming capital gains tax rises.
Co-owned with former ITV controller Tony Pastor, the company reported net assets exceeding £440,000 in its last published accounts.
The decision comes as the UK government announced in the recent Budget that capital gains tax rates will increase from 10% to 14% starting in April, with a further rise to 18% in 2025. By liquidating the company now, Lineker and Pastor can benefit from the current lower tax rate on distributions from the company’s assets.
Tony Pastor confirmed that Goalhanger Films is being “mothballed,” allowing the duo to focus on their rapidly growing venture, Goalhanger Podcasts. The podcast platform hosts popular series such as The Rest Is History and The Rest Is Football, and reported net assets close to £591,000 earlier this year.
Lineker’s move aligns with the practice of Members’ Voluntary Liquidation (MVL), a process that enables solvent companies to wind up operations in a tax-efficient manner. An MVL allows business owners with significant retained earnings to treat distributed funds as capital gains rather than income, potentially resulting in substantial tax savings under the Business Asset Disposal Relief framework.
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