Major Probe Launched Into American Candy Stores Over Illegal Sugar-Rich Sweets And Tax Evasion

A huge tax scam investigation has been launched into a string of American candy stores swamping Oxford Street and the West End of London including the major Kingdom of Sweets chain.

The brits are saying that there have long been concerns about the deluge of overpriced US-themed sweet and souvenir shops that have been taking traditional high street retailers on one of the world’s most famous shopping streets, including HMV’s old flagship site.

There are now at least ten candy stores between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road stations alone – equating to roughly one every 200 yards – with some offering other services like foreign currency exchange.

The Westminster city council is now probing more than 30 shops across the West End for allegedly avoiding business rates amounting to at least £7.9million.

These are owned by a variety of companies and include shops offering other items like souvenirs and vaping equipment. Shops are also being questioned in addition to candy stores selling packets of Jolly Ranchers sweets for as much as £45

Kingdom of Sweets, which has more than 15 branches, is among the shops being investigated by the Council for allegedly avoiding business rates. 

The brand and some of its rivals have been accused of are TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to lure children into their stores. There has been a boom in videos where youngsters try super-sour or sweet American treats and drinks for the first time. Others filmed staff giving visitors, including some apparently still in primary school, free sweets just for popping in and giving a fist bump. Something many would refer to as a simple marketing strategy.

The campaign group Action On Sugar has accused the stores of exploiting a loophole that means imported US chocolates and candy do not face the same restrictions on sugar content as UK-made products.

According to the campaign, this means the American-themed superstores sell products containing almost triple the amount of sugar a British child should consume daily, even in a small single serving. Action On Sugar called the targeting of children ‘appalling’.

Officials probing retailers’ tax affairs are understood to be concerned about a purported tactic whereby bosses using a single store name set up numerous limited companies to serve as its legal owner, before closing the companies prior to them being liable for business rates. Two companies which share directors with Kingdom of Sweets – Croftray Limited and Old Green Limited – have already been wound up owing £2million in rates.

The Westminster city council is also understood to be concerned about another alleged tactic used by rivals of Kingdom of Sweets which sees shops set up in empty buildings to avoid the landlord having to pay business rates on an empty premises, before closing and leaving before the shopkeepers become liable for the tax themselves. There is no suggestion Kingdom of Sweets has been doing this.