Originally Posted by
WHBM
As I understand it, Virgin Atlantic may do fine financially each year, but under the "Starbucks Method" of accounting, whatever level of profit they anticipate in any year is then sucked out beyond the reach of Her Majesty's Government by Virgin Group Holdings Ltd, based beyond the taxman's reach in an obscure accountant's office in the British Virgin Islands (not one of VA's Caribbean destinations; largest aircraft serving there is an ATR), which invoices for the "Use of Brand", which appears in Virgin Atlantic's accounts as a "marketing expense".
Interestingly, the initial stage of licensing seems to be run through a UK company – VAL TM Limited – and in the five financial years 2014–18 it received £61m in royalty payments from Virgin Atlantic
£ (,000)
2014 10,745
2015 12,183
2016 12,329
2017 12,637
2018 13,157
Even from a quick wander around companies house (and there are other data sources), it's possible to tease quite a bit of the corporate structure and cashflows apart if someone has time, will of course loose sight when the cash is transferred to BVI companies and family trusts though