Sportech a step closer to ?97m tax refund
HM Revenues & Customs denied right to have case heard by Court of Appeals
Sportech shares soared 15% today after announcing the Court of Appeals had refused the HMRC’s request to appeal a recent ruling which granted Sportech a VAT repayment of ?97m.
The HMRC now has until 17 June to apply directly to the Supreme Court for permission to appeal, but the markets appear to view the decision as a major win for the US-focused pools firm.
The tax claim was first filed in 2009 when the gaming company asked HMRC to repay more than ?40m in VAT the company said it had overpaid on its Spot the Ball game between 1979 and 1996. The case was taken to a tribunal which ruled that Sportech was owed ?95m after accounting for interest.
However the case has seen numerous appeals, with the latest ruling on 4 May unanimously going in Sportech’s favour.
The news comes after a “positive start” to trading in 2016 for Sportech, on the back of new customer wins and “operational improvement”.
The firm’s shares were up 15% to 82p on the London Stock Exchange at the time of writing.