Ingenious Media has lost an appeal against a ruling that outlawed its tax avoidance scheme, leaving sports stars, TV presenters, actors and business leaders having to pay HM Revenue & Customers a total £500 million.

Ingenious, a financing company that has funded more than 60 films, was accused of persuading investors to put money into an investment scheme that used artificial losses to generate tax relief.

The case has been one of the longest-running tax-related disputes on record. HMRC, which claimed the scheme constituted tax avoidance, won a first-tier tribunal judgment in August 2016.

Ingenious, which...