Sportech loses compound interest case against HMRC
News on 1 Nov 2017
News on 1 Nov 2017
The eight-year legal battle between Sportech and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) continues concerning its claim for compound interest on the repayment of GBP 97 million in overpaid VAT the company paid, reclaimed and was ultimately awarded back in December 2016 (see previous reports).
In the latest development, the Sportech board expressed its disappointment at a British Supreme Court ruling in favour of HMRC and against Littlewoods Limited and others in respect of the latter’s claim for compound interest on the amount as opposed to simple interest.
Richard McGuire, Chairman of Sportech, commented:
“Whilst this Supreme Court ruling is disappointing from the perspective of our own compound interest claim, it does not affect the operational progress at the Company, our growth opportunities or our ongoing strategic review.
“Following preliminary approaches to acquire the Company, we initiated a Formal Sales Process in October and, having signed several non-disclosure agreements to date, we will be engaging further with interested parties in the coming weeks. We will provide an update on this process within a scheduled trading update on Monday [November 6,2017].”
