A UK tax tribunal has ruled against former Formula One world champion Jody Scheckter, upholding a £1.4 million tax bill related to his organic buffalo farm, Laverstoke Park. The ruling follows an appeal by Scheckter, 76, against a 2019 decision by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) that his farming partnership had wrongly offset substantial losses against profits from other business ventures between 2008 and 2010.
Scheckter, the only African to win an F1 Grand Prix or the World Drivers' Championship, retired from racing in 1980. He relocated to England in 1996 and invested approximately £55 million of his fortune into Laverstoke Park in Overton, Hampshire. His aim was to create a large-scale biodynamic organic farm producing high-quality food, including buffalo mozzarella, and supplying meat to retailers like Ocado. The farm, which at one point housed Britain's largest herd of water buffalo, announced its closure in 2024, citing increased costs, reduced milk volumes, and the need for further capital investment.
The tax dispute centered on the mechanism of "sideways loss relief," which allows farmers to offset losses from their farming business against profits from other sources. However, this relief is typically contingent on the farming enterprise becoming profitable within five years of its establishment. HMRC argued that Laverstoke Farm Produce consistently incurred losses and did not qualify for this offset. The First Tier Tribunal agreed, dismissing Scheckter's appeal.
Judge Tony Beare, who presided over the appeal, expressed “considerable sadness” and “profound regret” regarding the outcome, acknowledging Scheckter's passion and the imagination behind the project. The judge noted Scheckter's ambition to create a model for organic farming and healthier eating worldwide, but also that he had underestimated the challenges and made mistakes in his business approach.
Scheckter's business ventures prior to the farm included founding Firearms Training Systems (FATS) in 1984, a company specializing in military and law enforcement training simulators, which achieved significant revenue by the early 1990s. He invested much of this wealth into the Laverstoke Park project, which expanded to include an abattoir, composting plant, and soil testing laboratory, in addition to its dairy and meat operations. Despite increasing turnover, aided by media appearances, the farming partnership consistently reported losses.
While the buffalo farming and dairy production ceased in 2024, other operations at Laverstoke Park, such as a composting plant and a car festival, continue. The tribunal's decision means Scheckter must now pay the backdated tax bill of £1,457,634.