Mel B banks almost £1million in 12 months following years of financial struggles

Mel B banked almost £1million pounds over the last 12 months following years of financial struggles.

The Spice Girl, 45, has £834,910 in the bank, a huge increase from the £53,081 she had last year, according to new accounts for her business Moneyspider Productions.

Mel, whose bank balance was helped by the Spice Girls’ reunion tour, has experienced financial troubles in recent years following her divorce from ex-husband Stephen Belafonte.

Success: Mel B banked almost £1million pounds over the last 12 months following years of financial struggles

In accounts filed to Companies House, Mel has a total of £649,313 in total net assets after money owed to creditors worth £186,672 is paid.

A source told The Sun: ‘Mel’s problems have been incredibly well documented, and she totally wears her heart on her sleeve so she never shied away from it.

‘Two years ago she owed the US taxman something like £350,000 which she had to ask for more time to pay, and the fall out form her divorce from her ex-husband Stephen was massive too.

‘She is having to pay him something like £3million over time from the sale of their house and other assets, but the good news is she’s got on top of everything and now can focus on the future.’

Ex: Mel, whose bank balance was helped by the Spice Girls' reunion tour, has experienced financial troubles in recent years following her divorce from ex-husband Stephen Belafonte

Ex: Mel, whose bank balance was helped by the Spice Girls’ reunion tour, has experienced financial troubles in recent years following her divorce from ex-husband Stephen Belafonte

MailOnline has contacted a representative for Mel B for comment. 

It comes after Mel was ‘teetering on the brink of bankruptcy’ and couldn’t afford the $500,000 a Los Angeles judge ordered her to pay ex-husband Stephen, according to court documents found by DailyMail.com in November.

If LA Superior Court doesn’t ‘modify’ the order, Mel told the court in a written declaration: ‘I will effectively be insolvent and will in all likelihood have to file for bankruptcy.

‘I simply do not have the ability to pay such an exorbitant sum.’

Finances: The Spice Girl, 45, has £834,910 in the bank, a huge increase from the £53,081 she had last year, according to new accounts for her business Moneyspider Productions

Finances: The Spice Girl, 45, has £834,910 in the bank, a huge increase from the £53,081 she had last year, according to new accounts for her business Moneyspider Productions

The singer asked Judge Mark Juhas to lower the $400,000 in legal fees, plus $100,000 in accounting fees she was ordered September 18 to pay ‘forthwith’ to Stephen, from whom she was divorced three years ago.

But Mel – whose estimated earnings from the Spice Girls reunion tour of the UK range from $2 million to $10 million – claimed that she has been unable to work because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Her lack of income, plus her $2.5 million debt to the IRS, the $15,000 a month she pays Stephen in spousal support, the $7,300 she pays in child support for their nine-year-old daughter Madison, plus her own legal fees, had left her virtually broke, she said… even though she estimated her expenses for the next year will be around $700,000.

Former America’s Got Talent star Mel – who moved back to England from LA in 2019- is so hard up, she claimed, that she abandoned her efforts to move Madison to the UK to live with her because she can’t afford the attorney fees to continue the legal battle with Stephen.

Stephen vehemently opposed the move and wants full custody of Madison.

Difficulties: It comes after Mel was 'teetering on the brink of bankruptcy' and couldn't afford the $500,000 a Los Angeles judge ordered her to pay ex-husband Stephen

Difficulties: It comes after Mel was ‘teetering on the brink of bankruptcy’ and couldn’t afford the $500,000 a Los Angeles judge ordered her to pay ex-husband Stephen 

‘Because of my lack of access to liquid funds, I have formally withdrawn my international move away request that was previously pending as to Madison,’ she wrote in her declaration to the court.

‘I maintain my belief that it would be in Madison’s best interest to move to the UK and reside with me and her older sisters (Angel, 13, by Eddie Murphy, and Phoenix, 21, by her ex, Jimmy Gulzar).

‘I am devastated that given all the financial issues and implications, I am not financially able to advocate for Madison’s relocation to the United Kingdom.’

Mel was able to get cash help from her two companies – Purple Owl and MoneySpider – to pay off some of her court-ordered debts, namely $100,000 to establish a trust fund for Madison, $37,500 toward Belafonte’s accounting fees and $30,000 toward her ex’s attorney fees.

Mel wrote in her declaration to the court: 'Because of my lack of access to liquid funds, I have formally withdrawn my international move away request that was previously pending as to Madison'

Mel wrote in her declaration to the court: ‘Because of my lack of access to liquid funds, I have formally withdrawn my international move away request that was previously pending as to Madison’

But when she asked her business partner – who is the only person authorized to sign checks drawn on the accounts of both companies – for a $600,000 loan to cover the court-ordered half million dollars she owes, he refused.

‘Partner denied my request,’ she wrote. ‘At this time, I am precluded by partner from obtaining loans for additional funds that are required from the businesses in order to fully comply with the September 18 court order.’

In the current COVID crisis, Mel has given up almost all hope of finding work ‘for the remainder of this year and into 2021,’ she said.

‘While I hope to find employment opportunities for 2021, I anticipate that it will be difficult to find work as an entertainer in these unprecedented times.

In a separate declaration, Mel's newly-hired lawyer, Adam Schanz, said: 'Melanie cannot afford and does not have the ability to make the court-ordered fee awards forthwith and must instead make payments over time'

In a separate declaration, Mel’s newly-hired lawyer, Adam Schanz, said: ‘Melanie cannot afford and does not have the ability to make the court-ordered fee awards forthwith and must instead make payments over time’

‘I am informed and believe that there will not be any events or concerts in 2021. Therefore, I have no idea how long it will be before I can work and the businesses can earn any significant further income.’

Despite the prospect of zero income, Mel added: ‘My expenses for the next 12 months are estimated to be about $700,000; this about includes certain obligations that are mandatory: spousal support, child support, $15,000 per month payment plan with the IRS and anticipated travel costs for Madison when she travels with me to and from the UK.

‘However, these expenses do not incorporate my outstanding debts, such as my substantial principal amounts owed to the IRS in the approximate amount of $2.5 million… I am also responsible to provide and care for Madison’s two older sisters, one of whom is still a minor.’

In a separate declaration, Mel’s newly-hired lawyer, Adam Schanz, said: ‘Melanie cannot afford and does not have the ability to make the court-ordered fee awards forthwith and must instead make payments over time.

Family: Mel has abandoned her efforts to move her daughter, 8, to the UK to live with her because she can't afford the fees to continue the legal battle with Stephen. He vehemently opposes the move and wants full custody of Madison (center)

Family: Mel has abandoned her efforts to move her daughter, 8, to the UK to live with her because she can’t afford the fees to continue the legal battle with Stephen. He vehemently opposes the move and wants full custody of Madison (center)

‘Melanie is doing everything she can to comply with the September 18 court order and not bankrupt herself.

‘Melanie will not be able to remain in compliance with the court’s orders without modification.

‘To wit, she is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy and she has abandoned her relocation request due to her tenuous financial situation… She is facing undue financial stress and cannot financially comply with the current orders to pay forthwith.’

Judge Juhas originally set a January 25, 2021 date to hear Mel’s motion to modify the order to pay the $500,000 to Belafonte.

But after considering attorney Schanz’s ex-parte argument that Mel ‘needs an earlier hearing date to assert her requests for financial relief,’ Judge Juhas granted the ex-parte and brought the hearing date forward two weeks to January 11, 2021.

Career: Mel's estimated earnings for the Spice Girls tour range from $2 million to $10 million

Career: Mel’s estimated earnings for the Spice Girls tour range from $2 million to $10 million