OOPS - I'VE SPENT IT AGAIN…
31st May 2009
By Mike Parker
Britney Spears is set to splash the cash again on her return to the UK.
The pop princess has even demanded a convoy of 22 cars so she can be driven around with her entourage.
She arrives in Britain on Wednesday for the European leg of her Circus world tour.
And it will give her a financial lifeline after a spree which has seen her shell out more than £6.2million in 11 months.
Figures revealed in Los Angeles Superior Court show she is still blowing almost everything she earns.
Britney, 27, lost control of her own affairs 15 months ago under a court order.
Dad James was put in charge after her “meltdown period” during which she twice ended up in psychiatric hospitals and blew £37million.
She also fell out of the Forbes Magazine list of America’s wealthiest entertainers while paying huge legal bills during her divorce battle with Kevin Federline.
Now, Britney’s latest financial report shows she is at least in profit and keeping her head above water – but only just.
LA-based financial consultant Katherine Raia told the Daily Star Sunday last night: “The figures presented to the LA court make it clear the Circus tour is very much a monetary lifeline for her.
Without it, she wouldn’t exactly be going bankrupt.
“But her lifestyle would undoubtedly require radical re-adjustment and she would simply have to learn how to save cash.”
The report shows Britney earned £7.45million between February and December last year and spent £6.6million of it.
At least £2million went on legal fees, the bulk of which were “phased payments” to attorneys dating back to her divorce fight.
A further £744,000 went on business expenses which, according to Ms Raia, “would obviously have been high with a new album and a tour to put together.” A hefty £384,000 went on “household expenses” – mainly payments to staff – at her new mansion in the LA enclave of Calabasas.
It also includes £2,000 for Christmas fairy lights. Child care costs, including part-time nannies and the £9,300 she pays Federline monthly for full child support, amounted to more than £120,000 over the 11 months, while unspecified “other staff” cost her more than £125,000.
Ther bill for Britney’s “personal security” amounted to about £285,000, a figure expected to climb during her European tour, which includes shows in London, Manchester, and Dublin.
But the real eye-popping figure submitted to LA Superior Court was £3million listed under as “miscellaneous.”
Ms Raia added: “I would have expected that at the very least, 25% of her income would be saved or invested. Just £625,000 left out of an income of £7.45million is pretty disastrous.
“It will certainly mean she and her father will have to dip into existing savings to pay whatever tax bill she was saddled with this year.
“It looks as if the Circus Tour might be as much a financial necessity as anything else. Certainly, without concert revenue, it would be very unwise of her to follow the economic path she has been on.
“Her people need to optimise her earning capacity and, very clearly, try to cut existing budgets where they can.”
Another money-spinner for Britney would be her autobiography, which would win her an advance of at least £3million and become an instant bestseller, say publishing sources.
A friend of the star revealed: “She has already written the framework for several chapters herself and has been talking about finding a ghost writer.”
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