FOOTBALL ACE BILLY McKINLAY IS BROKE
Former Scotland star racked up debts of nearly £700k after film firm went bust
FORMER Scotland footballer Billy McKinlay has been made bankrupt – with debts of almost £700,000.
The ex-Dundee United and Blackburn Rovers star was declared insolvent after failing to settle large bills, believed to be owed to the taxman.
He was an investor in a film production investment scheme which has seen several ex-players – including former Rangers captain Barry Ferguson – go bust.
McKinlay, 48, ploughed money into a scheme called Eclipse, which has been targeted by HMRC after one partnership was ruled to be a tax avoidance scheme.
The midfielder – who played for Scotland at Euro 1996 and the World Cup in 1998 – also had spells with Leicester City and Fulham and was capped 45 times by Scotland.
He applied for bankruptcy after running up debts of £686,245. It was approved by the Accountant In Bankruptcy, Scotland’s insolvency service, earlier this month.
A bankruptcy trustee – Antonia McIntyre of Glasgow-based insolvency specialists MLM Solutions – has been appointed to take control of his assets and try to recover money owed to creditors.
McKinlay, who lives in Weybridge, Surrey, has declared he only has £2705 worth of assets available to pay off his creditors.
He was previously listed as a director with Eclipse Film Partners No.9, a scheme which allowed investors the opportunity to claim tax relief through investing in the production of movies.
In April last year, the Supreme Court upheld a judgment that one of the biggest partnerships, Eclipse 35, was a tax avoidance scheme.
HMRC have used that judgment to issue demands to investors, who include several footballers and managers, in the other 38 similar partnerships.
Since retiring from the game, McKinlay has coached at Watford and Fulham and was No2 to David Moyes at Real Sociedad in Spain.
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