James Watt, co-founder of the successful company Brewdog, is facing a dilemma regarding his upcoming marriage to TV personality Georgia Toffolo. He recently reached out to his followers for their input on whether he should consider delaying the wedding for three years to take advantage of tax benefits.
Known for his controversial management tactics and past allegations of misconduct, Watt took to social media to seek opinions on whether he should prioritize tax relief or proceed with his marriage plans.
In a LinkedIn post, Watt revealed that his tax adviser had shared unexpected news that has prompted him to rethink the timing of his union with Toffolo, whom he proposed to earlier this year.
The 42-year-old – who stepped down from his CEO role at Scottish giant Brewdog in May – has announced that he is making an investment in Wild Pack, a raw dog food business founded by Ms Toffolo, 30.
‘Yes, I’m biased. But in my defence, it is a bloody great business,’ he quipped.
But in a major stumbling block which threatens to put the likely luxury wedding on ice, Mr Watt claims: ‘If I marry Georgia within three years of investing, I become a ‘connected person’ under HMRC rules, and I lose the EIS tax relief.’
He said he was no ‘facing the ultimate question’ – whether to delay the wedding for three years and ‘lock in the tax relief’ or ‘forgo the tax break and marry Georgia in 2025’.
Mr Watt then asked his followers to vote on two options, either: ‘Love always wins – take the tax-relief hit’, or ‘true love can wait for three years – secure the relief.’ The EIS – enterprise investment scheme – offers tax reliefs to individual investors who buy new shares in your company.
Multimillionaire Brewdog founder James Watt has asked followers to vote on whether he should delay his marriage to TV star Georgia Toffolo for three years to ensure he does not miss out on tax relief
In a post on LinkedIn this morning, Mr Watt said his tax adviser had ‘dropped a bombshell’ on him
The Wild Pack dog food brand was founded by Ms Toffolo last year. The reality TV star made her name on Made in Chelsea before winning I’m a Celeb in 2017.
It is not known how serious Mr Watt is about delaying his marriage, given he has previously performed publicity stunts such as throwing taxidermy cats out of a helicopter above the City of London.
But in a statement issued this evening, Mr Watt added: ‘We’ve been overwhelmed by the response to this post.
‘It really seems to have hit a nerve. People are asking, why does the tax system penalise a spouse for investing in their partner’s business?
‘It’s a good question and Georgia and I are still trying to figure what we’re going to do.’
His shocked reaction to the tax relief rules come two months after lashing out at Labour over reports that Chancellor Rachel Reeves was planning to hike capital gains tax and reclassify debt to raise funds for public services.
In her Autumn Budget, Ms Reeves went ahead with both measures despite Mr Watt warning entrepreneurs would flee the UK.
The millionaire appears to have remained in the UK, although he accompanied his LinkedIn post with a photo of him and Ms Toffolo on a beach with palm trees in the background.
Mr Watt was brutally roasted when he announced his engagement to Ms Toffolo on LinkedIn in October.
He jokingly described his engagement to Georgia as a ‘long-term, contractual arrangement’ that he had made, which he said ‘looked poised for future growth.’
‘She said yes! Georgia Toffolo and I did a very cool deal at the end of last week,’ he wrote in the LinkedIn post.
The businessman proposed at the end of October, on the week she celebrated her 30th birthday in the Greek islands
Announcing the news while showing off her enormous diamond engagement ring, she told her Instagram followers: ‘James just asked me to marry him’
‘It is a very long term, contractual arrangement which looks poised for future growth (business and personal). Lots of mutual investment into this one.’
But when someone took a screenshot of the announcement and shared it to X, formerly Twitter, it sparked furious backlash for James.
‘LinkedIn is a disease,’ the user captioned the post, which was viewed more than one million times.
‘I’m going to die of cringe,’ one person replied.
‘Hopefully his best friend doesn’t propose a joint venture,’ someone else joked.
‘How NOT to announce your engagement,’ another user added.
‘That’s so embarrassing I’d give the ring back,’ a fourth tweet read, while a fifth said, ‘Instant ick.’
Mr Watt got down on one knee while he and Ms Toffolo were celebrating her 30th birthday in Greece.
A source told DailyMail.com afterwards: ‘He asked her to marry him in front of both of their families in Greece.
‘After the proposal they went to a big party at the Peligoni club and ended up dancing on tables to ABBA, celebrating with all the other guests.’
‘James just asked me to marry him,’ the reality star shared on Instagram afterwards.
‘It really was the best moment of my life so far. I never knew I could feel happiness like this. The easiest, quickest yes to being your wife.
‘Our love story is my favorite. How we managed to find each other out of billions of people out there will always be my greatest blessing. I love you forever and the magical life we’re building.’
Ms Toffolo said of Watt: ‘He’s so clever. I’ve never met anyone like him, and I’ve met a lot of really successful people. I feel really fortunate to have him as my confidant’
Mr Watt stepped down from his role as Brewdog CEO in May after 17 years at the top.
His tenure was marred by a string of controversies including a ‘toxic’ workplace culture row.
Mr Watt took on the non-executive role of ‘captain and co-founder’ and retained his 21 per cent shareholding in the firm.
The millionaire’s Brewdog empire was not all smooth sailing and he was accused by former workers in an open letter in 2021 of having a ‘culture of fear’ within the business, with ‘toxic attitudes’ towards junior staff.
Mr Watt apologised to staff and since insisted the group has made changes after the open letter was published.
And in January, the company also faced a backlash after revealing it would no longer hire new staff on the ‘real’ living wage, instead paying the lower legal minimum wage.
Mr Watt said on announcing his departure from the top job: ‘During my time at the helm of BrewDog, there have been highs and lows, ups and downs, crazy successes and incredibly hard challenges.
‘When I look back on the last 17 years (119 Dog Years) my overwhelming feeling is one of gratitude.’
MailOnline has contacted Mr Watt for comment.
