The defaulters – spanning Greenwich, Woolwich, Orpington, Catford and Plumstead -appear on HMRC’s latest published list of deliberate tax defaulters, which names those who have received penalties for significant tax failures.
Together, the six owe a combined total of more than £1.26 million in unpaid tax, with penalties of over £575,000 levied on top.
Greenwich restaurant tops the list
The most substantial case in the area involves Gray Food and Beverage Ltd, the company behind Thai Tiger restaurant at 1 Woolwich Road, Greenwich, SE10.
HMRC found the company had failed to pay £399,683 in tax over a period spanning almost seven years – from August 2018 to April 2025.
Penalties of £216,769.20 were charged on top of the outstanding amount.
Thai Tiger, which operates on the edge of Greenwich town centre close to Cutty Sark DLR station, is listed as a restaurant business.
Orpington car firm racks up largest penalties
A Bromley-based car sales and rental business has been handed the biggest financial penalty of any south east London entry on the list.
Orm Autos Ltd, of 5 Glastonbury Close, Orpington, BR5, defaulted on £692,066.23 in tax across two separate periods — September 2019 to February 2020, and again from June 2020 through to August 2023.
The company was charged penalties of £266,445.42.
Woolwich tradesmen feature twice
Two individuals from SE18 – the Woolwich and Plumstead postcode – also appear on the list.
Bogdan Burbulea, a building site supervisor listed at Barracouta House, Black Prince Street, SE18, failed to declare £41,037.08 in tax between April 2020 and April 2024, incurring penalties of £23,201.65.
Thomas Allan Songhurst, a construction worker of Brookhill Road, SE18, is listed for a default of £34,357.19 covering the same four-year window — April 2021 to April 2025 — with penalties of £22,847.52.
Catford and Orpington also feature
Gheorghe Cristian Truta, a French polisher from Burford Road, Catford, SE6, owed £33,377.51 in tax between April 2021 and April 2024.
Penalties of £22,780.14 were applied.
Meanwhile, Michael David Tidmarsh, an electrician from Friar Road, Orpington, BR5, was found to have defaulted on £62,900.27 across two separate periods – April 2015 to April 2017, and again from April 2022 to April 2023. He was charged penalties of £24,216.59.
HMRC publishes its list of deliberate tax defaulters – sometimes known as the “name and shame” list – to deter others from failing to pay tax.
Individuals and businesses only appear on the list where HMRC has established that the default was deliberate, rather than accidental or due to genuine error.
Appearing on the list does not automatically mean criminal prosecution has taken place, but it does indicate HMRC concluded the taxpayer knowingly underpaid.
Entries remain on the published list for 12 months.
