EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate has narrowly prevented the enforced closure of Leisure One UK Restricted, a British buying and selling arm with revenues of greater than £176M ($237M), after settling an unpaid tax invoice.
HM Income & Customs (HMRC), the UK tax authority, issued eOne UK with a “winding-up petition,” which is the final resort taken by a creditor when making an attempt to get better debt.
HMRC was basically looking for a courtroom order to place eOne into liquidation, however the tax physique will now take steps to withdraw the petition after the invoice was settled.
Deadline understands that it was a “clerical error” that was corrected when this publication made Lionsgate conscious of HMRC’s petition. We hear eOne UK may truly be entitled to a tax refund.
HMRC has been approached. The tax physique doesn’t normally touch upon particular instances, however its place is that it solely points winding-up petitions as a final resort.
Leisure One UK Restricted’s most up-to-date earnings present that the corporate posted gross sales of £176M within the yr to December 26, 2023, however its pre-tax losses stood at practically £23.5M.
Lionsgate acquired eOne from Hasbro in 2023, however this deal didn’t embody the profitable Peppa Pig children’ model. Leisure One UK Restricted was carved up earlier than the transaction, with the corporate’s worthwhile household division, which housed Peppa Pig, transferring to Hasbro Client Product Licensing Restricted.
Leisure One Unscripted TV UK, a separate working firm, produces exhibits together with Amazon Prime Video’s Premier League actuality collection Married to the Sport and Adam Richman Eats Soccer, the Discovery+ collection hosted by the presenter of Man v. Meals.
