The Katie Price saga does appear to be never ending, and that’s just the insolvency aspect. Last week, The High Court ordered four companies, including OnlyFans, to pay 40% of her earnings to her Trustee in Bankruptcy. But, how did we get here?
Back in December 2018, the former model (aka Jordan) was facing a bankruptcy petition from (well guessed) HM Revenue & Customs. However, her creditors agreed to an Individual Voluntary Arrangement. As Andy reported on CPD Tap last week, 30% of IVAs approved in 2018 have now been terminated and Katie Price’s was amongst them.
The IVA was terminated as Price had breached the terms of the arrangement, and the supervisor presented a petition for her bankruptcy under Section 264(1)(c) Insolvency Act 1986. A Bankruptcy Order was made in November 2019.
Speaking to TV personality Michelle Visage on her Rule Breakers podcast in August last year, Price discussed her bankruptcy and said she had recently been to court "more times than I've had hot dinners" and would "genuinely" not care if she was jailed. She wasn’t joking.
Legal action surrounding the background of the £3.2million debts in the bankruptcy was adjourned for a sixth time in January. This is now scheduled to take place next month. This will include her £2million Sussex home, which was nicknamed the 'Mucky Mansion' after it fell into a state of disrepair. However, Channel 4 have muddied these waters by granting Price a TV show in which the vandalised and uninhabitable 19-room mansion has been renovated over the last two years.
Add to that, we have the case we referred to at the top of this article. This case involved the non-payment of monies due under an income Payments Order or Agreement, in this case £12,500 a month. As you will be aware, an IPO or IPA allows for payments to be made by the Bankrupt into their estate from their surplus income over a period of a maximum of three years. Given Katie Price has been in multiple TV shows, written six (yes really) autobiographies which are probably a bit light on the insolvency detail, eleven novels and had perfume lines amongst her business ventures, you can see where why the monthly payments are high. What we in the NTI newsroom are struggling to see is why the Individual Insolvency Register lists her occupation as “skilled trades”?
Four companies, including OnlyFans, have now been ordered to put her earnings towards her repayments. Her OnlyFans page describes her as the "queen of glamour", with users charged $14.99 (£12) a month to access "all my exclusive content". The four companies listed as providing her income also included celebrity news agency Backgrid.
Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Catherine Burton said they were "obligated to deduct 40% of the income due to be paid to Ms Price" each month for the next three years.
Finally (for now at least), Price is subject to a bankruptcy petition for over £760,000 in unpaid tax. The bulk of the debt is a claim of £535,700 in unpaid self-assessment tax or national insurance plus more than £40,000 in late payment fines. In addition, she also owes more than £140,000 in VAT payments plus almost £10,000 in VAT surcharges.
A quick search of the Individual Insolvency Register shows Price’s discharge from bankruptcy has been suspended indefinitely, pending her co-operation. Second Bankruptcy anyone?
