One Direction star Liam Payne, 31, was in the process of walking away from his failing solo music-making enterprises on the day he died having filed papers to resign as director of four of his companies.
The Wolverhampton- born singer fell 45ft from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina suffering fatal injuries on October 16.
Newly published documents at Companies House disclose that on the same date, the pop star filed papers to resign as a director from the four firms he channelled his income through for recordings and live shows.
One called Hampton Music Ltd was valued at £17,300 last year, while the singer’s Hampton Records Ltd – which was worth £300,000 in 2022 – had decreased to just below £75,000, accounts show.
His live music arm, Long Play Touring LLP, also saw its value dwindle from about £135,000 in 2022 to just £17,000 last year.
Liam Payne was in the process of walking away from his failing solo music-making enterprises on the day he died (pictured in March)
The One Direction star fell to his death from the third floor of his room at the CasaSur Hotel (seen) in Buenos Aires on Wednesday
Prior to his death he had been enjoying an elongated holiday in Argentina with girlfriend Kate Cassidy (seen with the singer)
Finally, his firm Hampton Publishing Ltd was valued at only £729.
Payne had been forced to extend his trip to Argentina after his visa application to stay in the United States was initially refused due to his drug abuse, a close friend has revealed.
The star had travelled to Buenos Aires to renew his ‘extraordinary achievement’ visa, which would allow him to continue his new life in Florida with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy.
But his application was not granted because he admitted to having abused alcohol and drugs and was forced to undergo psychiatric and medicals tests.
However, it was eventually cleared and he was due to have his passport stamped with the visa – just two days after he died in a fall from his hotel balcony.
Payne was given a clean bill of health from the medical and psychiatric tests, his friend claims, but died before he could have his passport stamped with the renewed visa.
Kate had originally flown with Liam to Buenos Aires to watch his former bandmate Niall Horan’s concert on October 4
The pair are pictured together at Wimbledon last year
Liam rose to fame with band One Direction. He is pictured with bandmates (left-right) Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik
Fans seen mourning the singer’s death in Buenos Aires on Thursday after the news was confirmed
Fans weeping at the hotel where Liam died, on October 19
Liam Payne was in talks for a 2025 tour before his death, despite concerns from his friends about his mental health (pictured at Hits Radio Live 2019 at Manchester Arena)
‘The results of the tests were good,’ the friend told the MailOnline. ‘Liam was 100 per cent sober.
‘He was supposed to have a meeting at the embassy on Thursday and collect his visa on Friday.
‘When I last spoke to Liam, I had no idea he that he was going to do anything stupid.’ Payne arrived in Argentina with Ms Cassidy on October 1 in time to watch Horan’s concert at the Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires the following evening.
The couple initially stayed at a luxury Airbnb property in the Argentinian capital, but were forced to move out when Payne’s visa application was delayed and their booking expired.
The singer then checked into the boutique CasaSur Hotel, while Ms Cassidy returned to their Miami home on October 12.
Four days later he plunged to his death from the balcony of his third-floor suite.
Tragically, the musician was in talks for a 2025 tour before his death.
The star was reportedly in negotiations for a series of live dates next year but friends were concerned he would not be able to handle time on the road.
A source told The Mirror: ‘When it emerged that Liam had been talking to new people about a series of dates, there was a great deal of unease among his friends that this was a bad idea.
‘Liam had split from his management about six months ago, and it would not have been something they would have recommended at the current time.’