Corporate hospitality scam which targeted Six Nations and Formula One shut down

A company which stole over £600,000 by selling fake hospitality packages at events such as Six Nations Rugby and the Formula One Grand Prix has been shut down.

Prive Global Sports Ltd scammed hundreds of thousands of pounds out of customers by offering high-end hospitality experiences it never had the rights to.

The company was wound-up at the High Court in Manchester on Wednesday 21 August after the Insolvency Service found no evidence of legitimate trading.

Prive Global Sports would send unsolicited emails to prospective clients offering packages at a heavy discount, claiming tickets had become available due to cancellations.

It would then cancel the bookings ahead of the dates with the promise of a refund and free tickets to other events. However, no refunds were ever made.

The RFU and FIA, the governing bodies for rugby union in England and worldwide motorsport, published warnings on their websites stating they had no affiliation with Prive Global Sports and urging customers not to buy tickets from them.

Prive Global Sports also charged 20% VAT on each sale, collecting around £120,000 in tax, when it was not registered to do so.

However, the Insolvency Service found no evidence that any VAT collected by the company was paid to HM Revenue and Customs.

Accounts filed at Companies House in 2022-2023 valued the company at £4.75m but no evidence was found to support the valuation.

This is the second scam selling fake corporate hospitality packages to be shut down this year.

Darcella Ltd, which used a similar method to cancel bookings at the last minute without a refund, was wound up in April.

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