Big spender Elton owes company £13m

SIR Elton John, as famous for his flamboyant and highly expensive lifestyle as for his songs, has been borrowing millions of pounds from his management company.

The 56-year-old star, who last month signed a £30 million deal for up to 75 shows at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, borrowed £4.5 million last year from his main company, William A Bong.

It took the total interest-free and unsecured amount that he owes the company to £13.3 million, according to Bong's latest accounts.

The Inland Revenue is pursuing the rock star for overseas earnings and the accounts note: 'A subsidiary undertaking has an ongoing dispute with the Inland Revenue which covers the period 1986/1987 to 1999/2000.

'The dispute relates to the employer's contributions due in respect of the earnings paid to an employee when working overseas.

'It is not possible to quantify the amount of repayment or liability that may arise.'

John has never been shy of spending and once famously got through £40 million in just 20 months, including £290,000 in six months on flowers.

Last month, he raised £1.4 million from a clearance sale at his west London home in Holland Park, but his company's accounts show that was a drop in the ocean as his earning power remains undiminished.

Turnover in the year to March 2002 jumped to £21.3 million from £6.7 million, though most of the increase came from £11.8 million of overseas income.

The performance led to a big overall pay boost for John and the 20 other employees of the company where the wages bill soared from £2 million to £9.2 million.

John is likely to have been the main beneficiary of the increase but his individual salary is not disclosed because he is not listed as a director, even though he is Bong's only shareholder.

Even after the chunky pay rises, Bong managed to move out of the red, showing a profit of £3.8 million against a loss of £1.3 million in 2001.

John, who had a number one hit in September with Are You Ready For Love? has been busy in recent years touring and even making television commercials for Royal Mail.

It follows a disastrous High Court case two years ago in which he tried to recover £14 million from his former management company, run by his ex-lover John Reid.

Though Reid returned £3.4 million of the sum that John said he was owed, the case collapsed and the singer was hit by an £8 million legal bill.