Tax authority had sought to have business wound up
Businessman Jay Bradley
The UK arm of Whiskey & Wealth Club that is owned by Irish man Jay Bradley has seen a winding-up petition filed against it by Britain’s revenue and customs authority withdrawn.
It follows an agreement reached by the company with HMRC to pay outstanding money owed to the authority.
“The matter arose in the context of wider circumstances, which are being actively addressed,” noted Whiskey & Wealth Club in the UK. “The business is continuing to move forward and further updates to follow in due course.”
Mr Bradley co-founded the Whiskey & Wealth Club in 2018 with Malta native Scott Sciberras. The firm enables its clients to invest in casks of predominantly Irish and Scottish whiskey at “special ultra-low wholesale rates”.
Whiskey & Wealth Club in the UK noted in a statement that it was “grateful” to HMRC for the “constructive approach taken throughout the process, which has supported a prompt and orderly outcome”.
“We are pleased to have reached a resolution and appreciate HMRC’s engagement throughout,” said Mr Sciberras, the CEO of the business. “The business continues to operate as normal, and our focus remains firmly on delivering for our clients and progressing the business with clarity and momentum.”
The most recent publicly-available accounts for the UK arm of the business are for 2023. They show that the unit had generated turnover of £15.8m (€18.1m) that year and made a £1.5m pre-tax profit.
It had total equity of £202,000 at the end of that year, having paid out £8.3m of dividends during the year. It noted that those dividends were paid to its immediate parent firm as part of a transaction to allow repayment of loans from directors and connected individuals.
The immediate parent firm of that entity is Brollachaun Holdings, which is controlled by Mr Bradley. Mr Bradley is no longer a director of the UK unit of Whiskey and Wealth Club, having stepped down in August 2020.
He stated last month that he has had “no operational involvement in the business, input in, or responsibility for the company’s day-to-day management or financial position” since August last year.
The most recently publicly-filed accounts for the Irish unit of Whiskey & Wealth Club are for 2022. They show that the firm posted a profit of almost €1.7m that year, giving it retained earnings of €4.5m.
It also lists its ultimate parent company as Brollachaun Holdings.