Liam Payne, the former One Direction singer, reportedly filed documents to resign as director of four of his music companies on the day he died.
The 31-year-old British artist tragically fell 45 feet from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, suffering fatal injuries on October 16.
Newly released documents from Companies House reveal that Payne submitted his resignation papers for the four firms through which he managed his income from recordings and live performances on the same day.
One of the companies, Hampton Music Ltd, was valued at £17,300 last year, while Hampton Records Ltd, which was worth £300,000 in 2022, had plummeted to just under £75,000. His live music company, Long Play Touring LLP, also saw a significant decline, dropping from about £135,000 in 2022 to just £17,000 last year. Finally, Hampton Publishing Ltd was valued at only £729.
A close friend disclosed that Payne was forced to extend his stay in Argentina after his visa application to remain in the United States was initially denied due to his history of substance abuse.
He had traveled to Buenos Aires to renew his “extraordinary achievement” visa, which would allow him to continue his life in Florida with his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy. However, his application was denied after he admitted to abusing alcohol and drugs, leading to mandatory psychiatric and medical evaluations.
Ultimately, his visa application was approved, and he was set to have his passport stamped just two days after his fatal fall. His friend stated that Payne received a clean bill of health from the medical and psychiatric assessments, claiming, “Liam was 100 percent sober.”
He was scheduled to meet at the embassy on Thursday and collect his visa on Friday. “When I last spoke to Liam, I had no idea he was going to do anything stupid.” Payne arrived in Argentina with Cassidy on October 1, in time to attend Niall Horan’s concert at the Movistar Arena the following evening.
