Akshata Murthy (Image Source: Wikibio.in)
Akshata Murty, the wife of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, was recently in the news for allegedly using her non-domicile status to save millions in taxes and shield her foreign earnings from British tax authorities.
The 42-year-old Indian born and Indian national, in April 2022 said that she will start paying UK tax on “all worldwide income”. So, what is the worldwide income under scrutiny and where is it coming from?
Murty is listed on LinkedIn as a director of three companies – the capital and private equity firm Catamaran Ventures, the gym chain Digme Fitness and the gentlemen’s outfitters New & Lingwood. We explain what these companies do and what Murty’s role in them is.
Net worth
Murty has a net worth of about $ 1.3 billion – thanks to her stake in Infosys, the software giant founded by her father, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The Bangalore-based company’s shares have surged more than 2,000 percent since Murty was first publicly disclosed as a shareholder in 2001, though they have struggled this year in the face of a broad tech sell-off.
Also Read | Why is Akshata Murthy’s wealth controversial?
Murty said her 0.9 percent stake in Infosys is not just an investment but a testament to her father’s hard work, of which she is “incredibly proud”. The Guardian newspaper estimated that Murty has received 54.5 million pounds ($ 71 million) in dividends from the family company, Infosys since 2015.
Notably, UK PM Sunak previously declared in the official parliamentary register that Murty owns private investment firm Catamaran Ventures UK, but has not given details of its investments. He transferred his 50 percent stake in the company to Murty when he became a Member of Parliament in 2015.
Murty is known to have developed links to some of the world’s richest families through Catamaran Ventures.
Also Read | Rishi Sunak’s billionaire wife Akshata Murty builds ties to world’s super-rich
Hand in pies
As per her LinkedIn, Murty is currently associated with Catamaran Ventures as Director, Digme Fitness (Director), New & Lingwood (Director), and the Claremont McKenna College as Trustee.
She also lists Stanford University Graduate School of Business as her alma mater.
Here is a look at the companies
Catamaran Ventures
Catamaran Ventures is the name of Murty’s family’s main investment entity, based in Bangalore, which employs a staff of about 15 in India overseeing holdings worth more than $ 1 billion spanning e-sports, insurance and Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp.
As per her LinkedIn profile, Murty has been a Director at Catamaran since May 2013. She is the British branch’s only director and shareholder.
On LinkedIn, she has said family offices of Catamaran are based in London and Bangalore. It focuses in the UK on local brands that need capital, management expertise and network partners to grow strategically. International expansion is one of the primary focus as per her description.
Through Catamaran, Murty also has direct holdings in at least six UK companies – Digme Fitness, Jamie’s Italian, Jamie’s Pizzeria, New & Lingwood, Soroco and Wendy’s. In Digme Fitness and New & Lingwood, she is also listed as a director.
For Wendy’s, the investment is in British hedge fund manager Hugh Sloane – the company that launched Wendy’s restaurants in India.
Also Read | Akshata Murty says ‘proud of Infosys investment, India remains country of my birth’, amid tax row
New & Lingwood
She has been Director since 2017 of New & Lingwood, an outfitter for students of England’s prestigious Eton College — Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s alma mater — which charges tuition fees of about £45,000 a year. She stepped down from the role in February. A spokeswoman for New & Lingwood declined to comment.
The company website states that New & Lingwood is a British heritage brand with four stores in the UK and New York, and a pop-up in Marylebone. Founded in 1865 in Eton, it has outfitted students of Eton Collage since then.
Digme
In 2017 Murty also became a director at Digme, a London-based fitness company that went into administration in February. Murty, who is still a director, owned a 4.4 percent stake as of February.
As per the company website, it offers fitness programmes at studios in Bank, Covent Garden, Moorgate and Richmond, besides home programmes.