Tyson Fury and his brothers must pay almost £100,000 in business rates after car park ruling
and live on Freeview channel 276
Cheshire East Council took the 39-year-old fighter and siblings John Jnr, 39, and Shane, 32 to court for non-payment of business rates since April 2021 at land they owned in Styal, Cheshire.
None of the trio attended a hearing on Tuesday at Chester Magistrates’ Court to settle the dispute but their father, John Snr, gave evidence to say he had previously transferred his ownership of the site at Moss Lane to them.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe court heard he rented a storage yard, said to be “a stone’s throw away” from Manchester Airport, for £600 per month to Babakir Elmosbah, who said he was director of a firm which used the site for a valet parking service to and from the airport.
However, District Judge John McGarva said the respondents – the Fury brothers – had “not got anywhere near establishing a prima facie case” that the company, Holiday Car Parks Manchester Ltd, were in actual occupation of the premises. He ordered the Furys to pay the business rates bill of £82,166.85, together with the council’s court costs of £17,206.
Mr Fury Snr told the court he had placed ownership of the land into a trust fund for his three sons to take over when they turned 21. He admitted though that his signature was on a commercial lease agreement with Holiday Car Parks Manchester Ltd.
He said he was dyslexic, could not read or write and that a trusted adviser who was “a lot more educated than me” had assisted him in all business dealings.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdMr Fury Snr said: “All I have done is rent a piece of land out to this gentleman (Mr Elmosbah). I don’t have any understanding of what business they do. I’m an old-fashioned man and I’m semi-literate. That’s how it is.”
Asked why he had signed the form when his sons were the registered landowners, he said he came from a “different culture” and that “I’m still the man of that land”.
He went on: “They have nothing to do with it. I’m a boxing coach, I’m a boxing trainer. I have no understanding at all. The only trouble I have been in is criminal, not the technical stuff. It’s not my field. I try to keep away from paperwork.”
He said he had not been told to attend Tuesday’s hearing but wanted to explain why his sons were registered as the landowners.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdMr Fury Snr said: “They had nothing to do with any of this. It’s ridiculous. Especially Tyson, when you are paying millions in tax every year. He has not lived here for 18 years.”