David Beckham kicks up a £30million stink after finding his perfume for sale in Poundland

Sir David Beckham's ability to sell – anything – has made him a billionaire.

Over the summer he appeared in adverts around the World Cup for beer, banks, mobile phones, crisps, fast food and more.

But it seems that there are some aspects of the hard sell that Sir David feels are beneath him as, it can be revealed, he is suing after finding out his perfume is on sale in Poundland and at petrol stations.

Court papers filed in the US speak of his 'shock and dismay... when DB Ventures [the firm set up to manage his businesses, brands and commercial rights] discovered that David Beckham fragrances were being offered for sale in a gas station'.

They ask: 'How could this possibly have happened?' Lawyers acting for his company answered their own question, putting it down to 'desperation and greed'.

The former England football captain's legal team are at pains to assert his 'global icon' status, saying that he is 'one of the most iconic and influential figures in sports fashion and business', and note the knighthood he received in 2025.

They add that his 'world-renowned global brand is synonymous with excellence' and that he has 'carefully cultivated' his 'luxury image... for decades'.

He has held a long-term partnership with perfumers Coty, which produces 45 different David Beckham fragrances, all selling for around £20 a bottle.

In 2025, the company that owns the Beckham name, Authentic Brands Group, contacted Coty's rivals at Interparfums to sell the licence to them instead, and a deal was announced in January. 

It will come into force in January next year.

In the meantime, Sir David has become dissatisfied with Coty's distribution of his perfumes, which he says is cheapening his brand.

Lawyers claim that Coty has shifted some $24million of Beckham products through 'unapproved distribution channels'.

The legal documents say: 'Coty distributed David Beckham fragrances through the budget retailer Poundland, allowing the product to be sold for dollar store prices and associating the David Beckham brand with cheap, discount products.' 

They are looking for compensation and damages totalling $41million (about £31million).

They also say that the company has under-reported sales by $123million, meaning that DB Ventures has been 'swindled' out of $6million in owed royalties.

Documents were filed at the New York Supreme Court and Coty has now filed its defence, asking for the case to be dismissed.

It says that the case is not about Poundland and petrol stations but an attempt to ditch it early and jump into bed with its rivals, or, to put it in legal language, 'a transparent effort to manufacture a pretextual basis' for such a move.

'This is not about protecting the David Beckham brand,' say Coty lawyers, who argue it is driven by a wish to hand the licence to Interparfums 'years before the agreement expires in 2028… to manufacture its early exit'.

It adds that DB Ventures was 'unable to persuade Coty Germany to walk away from its vested contractual rights for nothing'.

Exhibits filed at court offer a fascinating insight into Sir David's cushy arrangements with his commercial partners.

A 2016 licence agreement says that Coty has to pay for first-class travel, meals and hotels when he is promoting the perfume – for him, two companions and a security guard. 

Promotional days are capped at just six hours, including time for Beckham's hair and make-up. They also reveal his agreed royalties for the perfumes stand at 7 per cent.

Coty denies that the fragrances were ever sold in Poundland but says that it has the right to decide where it wants to sell its David Beckham range.

It says that only supermarkets and hypermarkets require a sign-off from DB Ventures.