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The Case of Alan Latham's Struck-Off Companies A prolific film producer, whose projects have starred the likes of Kelsey Grammer and Anna Chancellor, has had scores of his production businesses forcibly removed from the UK’s companies register, leaving workers unable to chase unpaid fees. Compulsory Strike Off and Its Implications Alan Latham, whose low-budget films have previously raised questions over his use of tax credits, has seen 50 of his film businesses compulsorily struck off by Companies House, according to data compiled by the film workers’ union, Bectu. A compulsory strike off occurs when Companies House dissolves a company for failing certain legal obligations, such as ignoring warnings to file annual accounts or statements providing information on shareholders. Failure to make these filings on time is a criminal offence and offending companies are frequently struck off. The Financial Impact on Film Workers However, once a company is removed from the register there is no longer an entity for creditors to make claims against. Film workers have told the Guardian that they have been unable to collect debts owed to them by Latham’s former businesses, including ones that have been struck off. One crew member said she was among a number of film workers beginning their careers who were not fully paid. “We were all young, desperate for work and to prove our worth. We were overly excited – that comes with not understanding – and we were exploited,” she said. The Future of Latham's Film Productions Latham – who remains a director of about another 50 active companies, according to Companies House data – is a well-known figure within the UK film industry. He is credited as a producer on 81 releases dating back to 1996 with two further films in production, according to the online film bible IMDb.com.

The Growing Financial Divide in Women's FootballThe whistle has blown on the 2025-26 season for the vast majority of women's teams around the world, and attention now turns to the hullabaloo of the transfer window and another summer of rising wages, transfer fees and agents fees. This summer's activity is likely to see the gap between the haves and the have-nots widen further, creating a challenging landscape for the future of women's football.The Transfer Surge and Rising CostsLast summer there was an 83.6% increase in global spending on transfer fees in women's football year-on-year, according to Fifa. This included headline-grabbing moves such as London City Lionesses' £1.43m purchase of Grace Geyoro from Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal's landmark first £1m deal – the signing of Olivia Smith from Liverpool.Similarly, data published by the Football Association in April revealed that between 4 February 2025 and 3 February 2026, £3.8m was spent on agents fees by Women's Super League clubs, a 75% increase on the previous year, more than £1m of which was by Chelsea, who spent more than 10 times as much on agents as Leicester or West Ham.The Financial Disparity Between ClubsThose respective 83.6% and 75% rises far exceed the rate of inflation and – crucially – the rate of increase in revenues, which rose by 25% year-on-year in global elite women's sports, according to Deloitte. Most of the rise can be attributed to the top clubs and deals for the world's best international players, while the reality for most WSL2 clubs is that they are hunting around for bargains in the free-transfer market.In the WSL, within the league's rules, the minimum salary for players aged 23 and over is £42,500, while for those aged between 21 and 22 years old it is £34,700 and for those aged 18 to 20 it is £26,900. Meanwhile, according to the Athletic, Khadija "Bunny" Shaw's new contract with Manchester City will see her paid up to £1.7m per year, a figure many would argue is justified for the WSL's golden boot winner, but which is more than, for example, the total annual revenue of £1.39m that Leicester recorded in their most recent set of financial accounts via Companies House.The Market Impact and Competitive ImbalanceContract renewals and free transfers are typically where players can demand the highest wages, and most clubs have been busy negotiating those end-of-contract moves before deals involving a transfer fee ramp up upon the official opening of the transfer window. Several big clubs have already done some major deals, with Georgia Stanway joining Arsenal at the start of July on a free from Bayern Munich and Tottenham expected to be ambitious in this window, as are newly promoted Birmingham, whose American owners have made no secret of their desire to be competitive in the WSL.Chelsea, meanwhile, are hunting for a striker and appear to be early favourites to sign the young Swede Felicia Schröder, who scored four goals across the two legs of May's Europa Cup final. Her club, BK Häcken, are likely to demand something close to a world-record fee for the 19-year-old's services. And in the most eye-catching development of the summer so far, London City have agreed personal terms with the Spain and Barcelona legend Alexia Putellas.The Future Outlook for Women's FootballThis all comes as the WSL2 side Durham – who beat London City in a league fixture just 18 months ago – warn that they will be forced to fold in under three weeks unless they can secure new investment to fund the 2026-27 season. The National Women's Soccer League sides, plus Kang's OL Lyonnes and London City, and the WSL's top three of City, Arsenal and Chelsea, are operating in a different stratosphere financially to most clubs in England, let alone to clubs in less affluent regions of the world.That trend will undeniably be this summer's standout theme, with the transfer window highlighting the growing financial divide in women's football. Unless measures are implemented to balance the financial scales, the sport risks becoming increasingly dominated by a small number of wealthy clubs, potentially stifling growth and competitiveness across the entire landscape of women's football.

When billionaire hedge‑fund manager Chris Rokos announced a £190 million contribution to the University of Cambridge, the move instantly became the largest single donation to any UK university in modern history. The funds will establish a new “school of government” aimed at bridging policy, science and emerging technologies. Rokos, a 55‑year‑old Oxford graduate, has amassed an estimated £2.6 billion fortune, primarily through his firm Rokos Capital Management (RCM), which he founded in 2015 after a high‑profile stint at Brevan Howard. RCM now oversees **over £22 billion** in assets, employs roughly 350 staff, and operates from offices in London, New York, Singapore and Abu Dhabi. In the most recent fiscal year ending March, Rokos paid himself nearly £500 million, according to Companies House filings, reflecting the firm’s strong performance amid volatile markets. Beyond finance, Rokos has kept a remarkably low public profile. He famously declined to provide a photograph when launching a £500 million fund in 2007, and he has avoided media attention despite owning one of England’s most expensive private residences. The £175 million refurbishment of the Grade I‑listed Tottenham House in Wiltshire – featuring a tennis pavilion, private cinema, basement squash court and a proposed “subterranean family link” to a pool house – has drawn local council scrutiny but stands as a tangible testament to his wealth. Rokos’s career trajectory began in banking at UBS and Goldman Sachs, moving to Credit Suisse where he was recruited by Alan Howard. He later joined the founding team of Brevan Howard in 2002, generating roughly $4 billion (≈£3 billion) in investor profits and about £600 million for himself before departing in 2012. His philanthropic philosophy emphasizes diversity of thought. In a video released by Cambridge, Rokos warned that a school populated only by “centrist, socially liberal” voices would be a failure, insisting on a broad spectrum of intellectual viewpoints. Earlier this year, RCM’s exploratory talks to bring former UK business secretary Peter Mandelson onto its advisory board collapsed after revelations about Mandelson’s connections to the late Jeffrey Epstein. Rokos also ranks among the UK’s biggest taxpayers and maintains a family office in Mayfair. A lingering legal dispute over a five‑year non‑compete clause with a former employer was settled out of court, clearing the way for his current venture. Overall, the record‑breaking Cambridge donation not only reshapes the university’s academic landscape but also underscores how hedge‑fund wealth is increasingly channeled into high‑impact philanthropy, blurring the lines between finance, education and public policy.