Sir John Griffin, the Addison Lee founder, owes HMRC £20.5m after losing his non-dom tax battle

From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026.

Sir John Griffin, who founded Addison Lee in 1975 and was knighted for his services, has been ruled domiciled in England by a London tribunal, meaning seven years of overseas income is fully liable to UK tax. The 84-year-old had argued he was Irish at heart — "besotted with Ireland, infatuated with Ireland" — but HMRC successfully challenged his non-dom status covering tax years 2013 to 2020.

The tribunal found Griffin's father had acquired an English domicile by 1959, meaning Griffin's own legal domicile was English by default.

Griffin deployed tens of millions into overseas ventures after selling his Addison Lee stake to The Carlyle Group in 2013, including €10.6m in Irish television and £10m in a Brazilian iron ore project.

Judges ruled England was where Griffin "established his home, raised his family, built his business, accumulated his wealth" — dismissing his emotional attachment to Ireland as insufficient.