Thomas the Tank Engine royalties stay on the capital track
In Wensley Stock & Ors v Neal & Anor [2026] EWHC 1823 (Ch), the High Court (HC) found that royalty payments received by a family settlement established by the creator of Thomas the Tank Engine were capital rather than income for trust law purposes. The dispute centred on how royalties arising from an assigned right to receive publishing royalties should be treated within the trust, and whether trust law principles overrode the wording of the settlement.
