Elton John slips £27m in the red

HE is famous for his lavish expenditure. And just a few days ago he was lauded for his generosity to charity.

But his latest company accounts show that Sir Elton John may need to curb his considerable outgoings.

The figures reveal that the star's company has an overdraft of nearly £27m. The 2004 accounts for William A Bong, which is the parent company of Sir Elton's businesses, showed a fall in turnover of more than £5m.

But the biggest change was in the company's overdraft which rose from £14,880,265 to £26,818,728 in the space of 12 months.

Pop music accountant Cliff Dane said he believed that the figures meant Sir Elton, 58, would have to carry on working for some time if the company was to avoid being in trouble.

'Everything is big with Elton John,' he said. 'He makes a lot of money and he needs to keep on making it. He is borrowing more than he is earning for the company at the moment and that is why it has the overdraft. He has taken a lot of money out of the company and if he suddenly stopped working he could be in trouble.'

Sir Elton, a thrower of extravagant parties, once admitted saving was not his strong point. 'I have a flair for writing songs but I don't have a flair for business,' he said. 'I don't have any people to leave money to. I am a single man. I like to spend money.'

Last year he went out wearing £ 5m of diamonds and he once admitted spending nearly £300,000 on flowers. At the weekend he was named at the country's biggest giver to charity, with £22m of his personal wealth going to good causes last year.

Despite a hugely prolific career, he has run into financial difficulties in the past. At a court case in 2000 it emerged that aides were so worried about his spending that they tried to limit it to £200,000 a quarter.

Sir Elton has continued to draw a large wage despite the huge overdraft. His declared income from the company was £5,333,471 - double what he took the year before. It is also likely that he is taking a large slice of the £18m William A Bong paid its 20 employees. The latest accounts could explain the star selling off his management company, Twenty-First Artists, last week for £16m.

But last night a spokesman for the star insisted he was not in financial difficulties, saying: 'This does not affect his personal wealth. He has three films on the go, two theatre shows, a big photographic exhibition and he paid out for his tours so he is waiting to get a lot of the money back.

'Every company has borrowings and this company is no different.'

The accounts are likely to improve this year. Sir Elton has written the music for a new West End version of Billy Elliot and signed a three- year £ 30m deal to perform in Las Vegas. Yesterday Frank Presland, chief executive of William A Bong, said: 'The company is emphatically not in any financial trouble. The problem with accounts is that they only speak about one particular day and don't take into account the money coming in.

'The overdraft is illusory and this is the way the business is run. I wish I had Elton John's financial problems!'

What he has spent

£200,000 ... on a visit to his London jeweller Theo Fennell in 1998
£38,000 ... a month on flowers and
£5,000 a week on veterinary bills
£500,000 ... in one day of shopping at Christie's auctioneers and a design shop
£25m ... on his art collection
£10m ... in legal battles including ones against his former manager and his former accountants
£12m ... on property including a
£6m mansion in Windsor and
£1.5m apartment in Atlanta
£15m ... on jewellery including a
£120,000 Cartier bracelet with
£50,000 matching ring
£5m ... pay-off in his 1984 divorce from Renate Blauel,
£5,000-a-month maintenance
£500,000 ... on his 50th birthday celebrations eight years ago including a
£3,500 wig
£6m ... on Watford Football Club, later sold for £2m
£2m ... on his car collection