Edinburgh’s Summerhall hit with winding up order over unpaid tax

The venue, spread across seven buildings, is home to more than 100 businesses including a brewery and a cinema.

In a statement, Mr McDowell said he believed no corporation tax was due to be paid to the authority by Summerhall Management Ltd, the firm which runs it on behalf of owners Oesselmann Estates.

The charge applies to trading profits, investments and “chargeable gains,” or selling assets for more than they initially cost.

If it is not paid, creditors, in this case HMRC, can apply for a winding up petition – which if successful would place the company into liquidation.

Mr McDowell said the company was working with “professional advisors” in order to resolve the dispute.

However he warned it was now operating under a “very strict set of guidelines” which may affect some tenants.

He said: “We believe there is no corporation tax due to HMRC and have been working with professional advisors to address and resolve matters with HMRC.

“Summerhall management are defending the proceedings raised and we hope a resolution can be achieved which will allow us to deal with this and move on quickly.

“The team are already in communication with those we work with who may be affected by this action, but we intend to trade as best we can, and in line with what is permissible, whilst we defend this action.”