London’s biggest companies are under the spotlight after a record-breaking year for tax defaults and a sharp rise in business tax burdens, according to newly published data from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). In 2025, a staggering 184 London-based firms were publicly named and shamed for deliberately defaulting on their tax obligations, owing a combined total of £251 million—more than three times the sum recorded in any previous year, as reported by MyLondon.
The surge in tax defaults comes amid a broader national trend. Across the UK, the combined total of tax and penalties published on the HMRC defaulters list soared to £533 million in 2025, more than double the £209 million reported in 2024. This marks the highest figure ever recorded since HMRC began publishing the names and addresses of deliberate tax defaulters owing more than £25,000 back in 2015. The list includes only those penalized under civil procedures and excludes criminal convictions for tax fraud, with HMRC noting that some of the money owed may have already been repaid.
The most eye-catching case involved Hive 360 Employer Limited (officially 10442565 Ltd), a management consultancy with offices in Birmingham and London. The company was found to have defaulted on £87.5 million in tax between February 2019 and January 2024. HMRC imposed a penalty of £56.9 million, bringing the total amount owed to an eye-watering £144.4 million. According to MyLondon, this is the largest default and penalty combination for any company to appear on the list over the past decade.
Three other "Hive 360" companies operating from the same London address were also named for defaulting on tax between February 2019 and July 2023. Hive 360 001 Limited defaulted on £4.4 million and received a £2.8 million penalty. Hive 360 002 Limited defaulted on £10.1 million with a £6.5 million penalty, and Hive 360 Limited defaulted on £545,000 with a £354,000 penalty. In total, these companies racked up over £169 million in tax and fines before entering insolvency.
Other notable defaulters included property developer Hasan Nawaz Sharif, who defaulted on £9.4 million between April 2015 and 2016, earning a £5.3 million penalty. Squibb Group Limited, a demolition firm from Barking, was found to have defaulted on £8.2 million between February 2011 and January 2015 and received £6.2 million in penalties before going into liquidation. Software firm Residently Services (UK) Limited defaulted on £1.9 million between 2019 and 2023, resulting in a £1.4 million penalty. Additional companies such as GFP Payroll Ltd, Risingstar Convergent Ltd, Advance Global Management Ltd, Ammos London Limited, and Elbrook (Cash and Carry) Limited each faced combined penalties and defaults ranging from £2.0 million to £2.7 million.
HMRC’s approach is to publish the names and addresses of those who have received penalties for “deliberate errors in their tax returns” or for “deliberately failing to comply with their tax obligations.” However, tax defaulters can avoid being listed if they fully disclose their defaults to the authorities. The naming and shaming only occurs after penalties are finalized, and HMRC emphasizes that the list does not necessarily reflect the full extent of a taxpayer’s default. The published information corresponds to the company’s name at the time of the default, and HMRC notes that businesses at the same address may now be under different management or ownership.
Despite these efforts, campaigners argue that the government could do more to crack down on tax evasion. Mike Lewis, director of the advocacy group TaxWatch, pointed out, “Half a billion pounds is roughly the cost of a GP appointment for every child in the UK. It's time HMRC got serious about prosecuting tax evaders. There were more people prosecuted last year for fishing offences than for tax fraud.” He also criticized the lack of action against rogue accountants and tax advisers, stating, “To our knowledge HMRC has never used its powers to name dishonest tax advisers and tax agents—and has fined fewer than five of them in the last five years.”
HMRC, for its part, maintains that it is committed to tackling deliberate tax defaulters. A spokesperson told MyLondon, “We are committed to tackling those who deliberately default on the tax they owe. By publishing the names of deliberate defaulters and their penalties, we send a clear message that non-compliance has consequences.”
While tax enforcement has been in the headlines, businesses across the UK are also feeling the pinch from a sharp rise in payroll and other taxes. According to The Times, government payroll tax income has surged by nearly 40 percent since the pandemic, reaching £198 billion in the year to February 2026, up from £143 billion in 2019-20. This increase reflects a heavier tax burden on businesses, with receipts rising 15 percent in the past year alone after the earnings threshold for National Insurance Contributions (NICs) was lowered to £5,000 and the main employer rate increased to 15 percent in April 2025. These changes, announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her first budget in October 2024, amounted to a £25 billion tax rise for businesses.
Adding to the cost pressures, the minimum wage rose by 6.7 percent last year and is set to increase by another 4.1 percent in April 2026. Business rates for clubs and restaurants have also gone up, though pubs were partially excluded following a government U-turn. The war in the Middle East has sent oil and gas prices climbing, further squeezing company margins. Manufacturers reported that cost inflation accelerated at the fastest pace since 1992 in March 2026, according to The Times.
Consumers have not been spared either. Since the pandemic, they have faced “fiscal drag” as successive chancellors froze a range of tax thresholds—a policy first introduced by Rishi Sunak in 2021 and now extended by Reeves to 2030-31. As a result, this measure is set to become one of the largest tax increases on individuals in British history. Income tax receipts have jumped by 69 percent to £328 billion since the Covid-19 crisis, underscoring the broader impact on households as well as businesses.
Robert Salter, a director at the accountancy firm Blick Rothenberg, commented, “The reality is though that while [the chancellor] likes to claim that the increase in employers’ NIC isn’t a ‘tax on working people’, economists would generally agree that increases in employer social security costs increases joblessness—and we have seen a significant increase in the joblessness rate over the past 12-plus months—while also having indirect costs for taxpayers through higher inflation, for example.”
Looking ahead, the Office for Budget Responsibility projects that the UK’s overall tax burden—measured as all tax receipts as a share of GDP—will reach a postwar high of 38.5 percent by 2030-31. The combination of tougher enforcement, rising business costs, and ongoing economic uncertainty has left companies and individuals alike grappling with a complex and evolving tax landscape.
As HMRC continues to publish the names of major defaulters and the government seeks to balance the books, the debate over tax fairness and economic recovery is sure to intensify in the months ahead.