Gary Barlow and two of his fellow Take That band members – Mark Owen and Howard Donald – have been ordered to repay millions of pounds after avoiding taxes.

Judge Colin Bishopp ordered Barlow, Owen, Donald and their manager Jonathan Wild to repay tens of millions after ruling that their multi-million investments in Icebreaker Management were part of a tax avoidance scheme.

Whilst the majority of Take That and their manager are Icebreaker investors, Robbie Williams and Jason Orange are not.

Icebreaker Management claims to invest money in the music industry for profit by producing “creative and artistic material and taxable profits”. 

The judge stated: “Icebreaker is, and was known and understood by all concerned to be, a tax-avoidance scheme. The predominant purpose of entering the scheme was to achieve a tax saving.”

The Take That stars are among over 1000 investors in Icebreaker Management.

A spokesperson for HM Revenue and Customs has commented: “HMRC has put in place generous reliefs to support genuine business investment and our tax reliefs for the creative industries work well, enabling the UK’s world-class film, television and video production companies to compete on the global stage. But we will not tolerate abuse of the system by people trying to dodge their tax obligations. HMRC will continue to challenge in the courts and anyone who engages in tax avoidance schemes risk not only the high cost of these schemes but also lay themselves open to penalties and, potentially, prosecution.”

Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald are yet to release statements regarding the tax tribunal ruling. 

Watch Take That in action below: