Ex-F1 world champion, 76, who became UK’s biggest buffalo farmer loses court battle over £1.4MILLION tax bill

A FORMULA One champion who became the UK’s biggest organic water buffalo farmer has lost a £1.4m tax battle over his herd. Jody Scheckter, 76, was ordered to repay the taxman the whopping sum after wrongly offsetting losses he incurred on his farm in Hampshire. Jody Scheckter with his water buffalo on Laverstoke Park farm in Hampshire Credit: Alamy Mr Scheckter has lost a court battle over an unpaid tax bill and must now fork out £1.4million Credit: Supplied by Champion News The South African race car driver poured £55million into Laverstoke Park, which supplied meat to Ocado, before it went bust in 2024. His LLP Laverstoke Farm Produce did not qualify for relief on its losses due to making a loss almost every year since it was set up following the star’s relocation to England in 1996. Sign up for the Sport newsletter Thank you! Dismissing his appeal against paying the tax bill, Judge Tony Beare shared his “sadness” at the failure of Mr Scheckter’s buffalo passion project. He said: “It is impossible to have been involved in this case without feeling considerable sadness. The race car driver won 10 Grands Prix in his heyday Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd Mr Scheckter turned to farming after relocating to England, creating his own mozzarella balls Credit: PA:Press Association “[Sadness] at how a project which was conceived with such imagination and originality by the appellant on which he expended so much financial capital and personal energy has turned out. “He was…extremely passionate about the positive effects which healthier eating would engender for everyone and wanted the business to be a model for organic farming and healthier eating across the world. “We would be remiss if we did not conclude this decision by acknowledging that and expressing our profound regret for the way that things developed. “Regret which is compounded by the conclusions which we have felt compelled to reach in the present proceedings.” Most read in Sport Mr Scheckter is still the only African to have won an F1 Grand Prix Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd The South African driver pictured next to fellow Ferrari ace Gilles Villeneuve Credit: Getty Mr Scheckter’s Formula One career saw him win 10 Grands Prix between 1972 and 1980. He also won the World Drivers’ Championship in 1979 with Ferrari. He is the only African to have won a F1 Grand Prix and the World Drivers’ Championship. The star founded a weapons simulation business called Firearms Training Systems (FATS) after retiring from racing. The successful venture topped £100million in revenue by the early 1990s. After relocating to England he bought the farm and invested millions into it, setting up an abattoir, a farm shop, a dairy and ice cream production plant, a composting site and a soil testing lab. Mr Scheckter set up an abattoir, a dairy and ice cream plant and more at his huge farm in Hampshire Credit: Getty The F1 star made millions by setting up a weapons simulation business after retiring from racing Credit: Alamy Judge Beare said the business started out as a passion project. “His aim in starting the business was to produce the purest, best quality, organic food, to do so on a large scale, which was something that no-one else in the market was doing at the time and ultimately to make profits,” he said. “He admitted that he had made mistakes. He had thought that he could replicate his success in relation to FATS in the US in this different context. “However, he had under-estimated the differences between the two businesses and the difficulties to which that gave rise. “He had spent too much money and over-committed because he wanted to move fast and create something substantial but, in this case, he should have been more circumspect and listened to the experts who were telling him not to proceed in such haste. Mr Scheckter “spent too much money and over-committed” after setting up his buffalo farm Credit: Supplied by Champion News His farm finally went bust in 2024 and he is now facing a whopping tax bill Credit: Supplied by Champion News “The business faced many challenges and a number of factors contributed to the losses. It was difficult for an organic farming business to make a profit for a considerable period after commencement, particularly in the late 2000s. The judge said the farm’s losses for the three relevant years could not be offset against other earnings as the LLP had not been profitable for more than five years before. “He did have an altruistic purpose in carrying on the business in addition to his profit motive,” Judge Beare said. Comment now