It was bound to happen. With the trail of devastation left in the wake of that spiky little virus coursing its way through the global community, DVB were always going to be affected. Spare a thought for David and Victoria this morning (Friday 22 January).
The pouting queen’s fashion business failed to pay a dividend last year, and its BDO auditors warned that its reliance on shareholders to prop it up had created a “material uncertainty that may cast doubt on the company’s ability to continue”. Oh no - where we all buy a a blood red embellished cady mini-dress, a steal at just £1,300, now (sizes still available in petite, super-petite, Barbie and 'oops, I've lost it; no there it is behind that apple')?
Last April, Victoria’s (we want to say ‘vanity project’, but that seems like an understatement of catastrophic proportions) ... company received £9.2 million from shareholders to repay £6.2 million owed to HSBC after breaching its covenants in 2019. The directors said that the support of shareholders (er, that would be our very own king and queen of football-fashion society) would be required to get the business through the pandemic
It’s fair to say that some working class people have also been fairly badly affected by the Coro ... blah, blah, blah and its fallout, but nothing like on the scale of Goldenballs and his missus. The eponymously named David Beckham Ventures, the brand management company owned by the couple, paid them a £14.5 million dividend in 2019, up from £11.1 million the year before, but (and here’s where you will be reaching for your phone to pledge money to the cause) they only received a £7.1 million payout last year.
According to a Companies House filing, the company’s sales (of what, exactly?) rose by 3.8 per cent to £16.2 million, although a £1 million donation to Unicef, of which inky Dave is an ambassador, and currency movements contributed to a fall in pre-tax profits from £14.8 million to £11.3 million.
We in the NTI newsroom think you lot out there have to view this news in the context it deserves. How many of you experienced a fall of £3.5 million in potential income last year?
Hello! magazine have expressed an interest in covering the story bedecked with a series of pictures of a forlorn Victoria looking doe-eyed and slightly askance, hunched over a lunch of half a Rivita and some kale.
Have a heart, you lot.
