Instead of playing it safe with Isas and deposit accounts, three intrepid investors gambled on something weird and wonderful
In 2012 husband and wife Grahame Penny and Maggie Taylor paid £500,000 for one of Britain’s few private toll bridges, crossing the River Wye in Herefordshire. At the time it was making around £65,000 a year, but after costs there was little left for its owners.
Nearly four years on, things look a lot brighter: this year’s turnover is forecast to reach £120,000 and the couple estimates that the operating profit will be in the region of £75,000. But that only tells part of the story because the bridge comes with a remarkable bonus. The 1780 and 1797 Acts of Parliament that granted permission for the bridge also gave its owners exemption from all taxes – which means the profit is completely tax-free.
During the Hay festival, which is 10 days a year, we take 10% of our income