Joey Essex Management Ltd has been forced into liquidation after failing to pay huge debts of £1.2m, mostly due to the taxman, and now accountants are looking into the company director
Joey Essex is being probed over the collapse of his management firm. The former TOWIE favourite’s firm has been forced into liquidation after failing to pay huge debts of £1.2m, mostly due to the taxman.
New documents sent to Companies House reveal accountants looking in Joey Essex Management Ltd say they will now investigate company director Joey.
“Now that the Company has converted to an insolvent liquidation, the Liquidators will have a duty to enquire into the affairs of the Company to determine its property and liabilities and to identify any actions which could lead to the recovery of funds in the Liquidation,” the papers read.
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“In addition, we are also required to consider the conduct of the Company’s director and to make an appropriate confidential submission to the Insolvency Service in accordance with the Company Directors Disqualification Act.”
Joey, 35, is the company’s only director and shareholder. He set it up in 2011 when he joined Towie. He has banked millions from other shows, including Educating Joey Essex, Celebs Go Dating, Dancing on Ice and Love Island.
The firm had cash and assets of almost £1m just two years ago. Now the outfit is being wound up by a liquidator who has revealed debts racked up by his business include £30,449 in VAT, £9,552 in PAYE, £402,302 in corporation tax, £15,000 to trade and expense creditors, and a £39,942 Covid bounce back loan. In total, the debt to creditors stands at £497,246. But Joey’s director’s loan account is also overdrawn by £780,000.
The report added that £350,000 of the cash has now been repaid to the firm’s coffers. Last August Joey signed a Declaration of Solvency document stating the company would pay back its debts back in full within a year. The reality star, who is trying his hand at boxing, was last month announced to appear on Gary Lineker ’s upcoming ITV gameshow The Box.
We approached Joey for a comment via his agent.
He closed down another firm, The Top TT Limited, in March. He set it up in 2023 and it never filed accounts. Essex recently made a big money move to boxing, which may help to settle his debts.
He landed a reported £500,000 pay day for his maiden fight. However his dream boxing debut could be under threat after his opponent announced plans to appeal the result. He stepped into the ring for the first time last month for the latest Misfits event.
The TV personality earned a points victory over Numeiro, a Portuguese influencer, in Manchester on August 30. Essex even overcame a standing count in both the fourth and final rounds before being awarded the hard-fought win.
In a fresh twist weeks after the fight, Numeiro has revealed that he’s planning to appeal the result. The 27-year-old, real name Joao Barbosa, told IFL TV: “I really don’t want to cause any trouble, or to sound rude or do something bad.
“But every time I rewatch the fight, every time I speak to someone professional, coaches, referees, pro athletes, everyone I always get the same feedback. It was like, ‘That could have never happened (Essex winning)’. If they had given us a draw I don’t think we would even be arguing about it. It’s still not fair from my perspective, but It’s definitely not a loss.”
A rematch has been mooted but Barbosa insists that he’s ‘more interested in getting a fair result’ for their first fight. Should a rematch happen, he’d want it to take place outside of the UK.
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