James Glyn's wife's London feasts almost landed him with £5.5m tax bill James Glyn moved to Monaco after a £29million dividend from family firm But tax authorities claim Mr Glyn and wife never gave up UK residency They pointed to Friday night dinners in London as evidence they hadn't left But judge said the couple had made a new life in Monaco A retired property mogul came close to losing out on a £5.5million tax break - because of his domestic goddess wife's 'great cooking'. James Glyn insisted he was resident in Monaco when he received a £29million dividend from selling off his family property portfolio. But Revenue and Customs were equally adamant that his heart remained in London's prosperous St John's Wood - where his wife, Sarah, as well as being a high-powered charity chief, was legendary with family and friends for her sumptuous home cooking. The tax authorities cited the couple's regular returns to London for Jewish festivals and traditional Friday night suppers with their grown-up children as evidence that they had never really left - and were thus subject to the full gamut of UK taxes. Plush: Circus Road, in St John's Wood, London, where Revenue and Customs claimed Mr Glyn actually lived and, as a result, owed millions in tax The couple spent about 200 days in Monaco (pictured) during the tax year in question and Mr Glyn told the tribunal that, after his departure from England, Circus Road 'did not feel like home' any more Now, however, a tax tribunal has handed victory to Mr Glyn, 64, ruling that he had truly made his home in the tax haven principality after more than 30 years managing the family's £60million property empire - a task which he viewed as 'drudgery'. Mr Glyn - described as a thoughtful and 'not particularly extrovert' man who 'devours' reference books and loves playing Scrabble - found himself suddenly at the helm of the family's business at just 21 when his father died prematurely. His 'meticulous and highly organised' mind - when combined with the 'more extovert' style of his wife and brother, Stuart - led to phenomenal success for the family's property business, the Milverton Group Limited. The couple made their home in a splendid town house in exclusive Circus Road, St John's Wood, filling it with furniture and fittings worth up to half-a-million pounds and bringing up their children, Toby and Georgina, there. But, by 2005, Mr Glyn had had enough. Describing his daily work life as drudgery', he said he had never much liked his job and believed he had enough money to retire, said tribunal judge, Howard Nowlan. His brother set about selling off the family's property holdings and, in May 2005, Mr Glyn received a £29million dividend. Mr Glyn and his wife enjoyed watching the Grand Prix and tennis tournaments in Monaco, once sitting close to Andy Murray in a restaurant. File pictures Revenue and Customs said £5.5million in income tax was due on that bonanza but the judge said 'battle lines were drawn' in a 'hard-fought' case when Mr Glyn insisted he and his wife had moved to Monaco in April 2005 and did not owe a penny. The tax authorities pointed to the couple's fondness for their London home and continued close contact with their children and a large circle of friends as evidence that their hearts had remained in St John's Wood and that they had never lost their UK residence. Sarah Glyn had only reluctantly given up her role as Chairman of Jewish charity - the Women's International Zionist Organisation - and had had 'mixed feelings' about leaving her home and following her husband to Monaco. Revenue and Customs said the couple's regular returns to Circus Road - so that Mrs Glyn could cook for friends and family on Friday nights and Jewish feast days - showed that, in their hearts, they had never left. The couple's twin Mercedes cars had remained behind them in London and Mr Glyn had applied for a residents parking permit, confirming that he was resident in Circus Road. However, Judge Nowlan said the couple had bought two luxury flats in Monaco and, although Mr Glyn returned to Britain 22 times in the 2005/06 tax year, he had kept well below the 90-day limit for overseas residency. The couple enjoyed visits from their children and friends, entertaining them at famous venues, including the top floor restaurant at the Hotel de Paris. Ruling that the couple had made 'a distinct break' with Britain, the judge added that family and friends' enjoyment of Mrs Glyn's culinary prowess was just one of a number of motives for their return trips to London. Friday night dinners were 'an ingrained feature of Jewish family life' and the judge observed: 'It seems odd to suppose that sustaining Mr Glyn's claim to have become non-UK resident should require that the invariable Jewish tradition should be abandoned or artificially restricted.' Whilst they were 'very fond' of Circus Road, Mr Glyn had genuinely sought a 'more relaxed lifestyle' in Monaco, losing two stone through a healthy exercise regime of walking and swimming, while his wife loved combing the food markets for delicacies. A lifelong migraine sufferer, Mr Glyn said he had never endured one since setting foot in Monaco, where he and his wife enjoyed watching the Grand Prix and tennis tournaments, once sitting close to Andy Murray in a restaurant. Mr Glyn admitted that 'his lifestyle in Monaco might be regarded by some as not terribly fulfilling'. But the judge added: 'However, not only was it what he wanted, and what totally suited his more solitary personality, but it was in some ways more fulfilling than many other ways of spending one's early retirement.' The couple enjoyed visits from their children and friends, entertaining them at world famous venues, including the top floor restaurant at the Hotel de Paris, and travelled frequently into Italy and France. They spent about 200 days in the principality during the critical tax year and Mr Glyn told the tribunal that, after his departure from England, Circus Road 'did not feel like home' any more. Ruling that Mr Glyn had 'unquestionably acquired a habitual abode in Monaco', the judge said he and his wife had enjoyed the affluent, sun-filled, lifestyle and had taken full advantage of the countless attractions' the principality had to offer. They had intended to make Monaco their 'home in every sense' and had done so 'for various personal reasons, going well beyond merely camping abroad to avoid tax,' the judge added. The tribunal heard that, after Georgina gave birth to the couple's grandchild in 2009, Mrs Glyn was drawn more and more back to the UK and the couple returned to Circus Road permanently in May 2010.