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The latest report on Olympic legend Sir Bradley Wiggins has revealed he owes £1 million more than was first thought, after he lost his home, his marriage and was left ‘sofa surfing’
British Olympic legend Sir Bradley Wiggins owes £1m more than was first thought, the latest report on his bankruptcy reveals.
A team of liquidators dealing with Wiggins Rights Ltd found that he owed almost £1m when he was declared bankrupt earlier this year. But a report just filed to Companies House reveals that the debts have more than doubled.
Senior liquidator Georgian Eason is looking to sell the rights to trademarks like Wiggo, Wiggins and Bradley Wiggins to raise cash. It marks the latest chapter in the troubled life of the star who admitted that he had effectively been left homeless by his financial woes.
After an extraordinary career in which he became the first Briton to win the Tour de France, with eight Olympic medals, he lost his home, his marriage and was left ‘sofa surfing’ with friends. He was declared bankrupt because he was unable to keep up payments on his Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) to pay creditors.
The debts include hundreds of thousands of pounds owed to the tax office amid speculation he may have to sell his five Olympic Golds. Ms Eason said in her latest findings: “As mentioned in my previous Progress Report, the Director had entered into an IVA and the Company had submitted an increased claim within the IVA of £979,953.53.
“During the Period under review, the Directors IVA has been terminated, and a bankruptcy petition has been granted. I have submitted the Company’s increased claim in the Bankruptcy proceedings to the sum of £1,976,157.73.
“It holds the legal title to a small number of Trademarks. My agents have identified an interested party and are presently seeking to discuss a proposed sale.”
Those trademarks include “Bradley Wiggins”, “Wiggins”, and “Wiggo” which would be sold as Intellectual Property. Wiggins, 44, said of his financial affairs in August: “I realise now the importance…I should have paid more attention.”
He told Lance Armstrong’s podcast: “I’m in this situation now but because of the mess that’s been created. It has been rumbling on for quite a few years now, this hasn’t just happened overnight.”
In 2020, his companies were wound up with a web of debts that came to more than £1m, including £329,000 to the taxman. Personal bankruptcy proceedings then started over the cash owed under the director’s loan. This was put to one side thanks to the Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA), an agreement to pay money back to insolvency specialists. He was expected to clear the money owed by selling his holiday home in Mallorca; instead, his debts have grown.
He told Cycling Weekly that his money woes were a “very historical matter that involves professional negligence from others that has left a pile with my name at the front of it to deal with.” He added: “Happens to a lot of sportsmen while they’re doing the grafting and on that there’ll be a number of legal claims from my lawyers left, right and centre.”
He separated from his wife in 2020. Last September his Lancashire home was repossessed and put up for sale for £975,000, and the supervisor of the failed IVA petitioned for bankruptcy. Alan Sellers, his lawyer, said earlier this year: “He has lost absolutely everything. He doesn’t have a penny.
“It’s a very sad state of affairs. Brad is sofa surfing. He stays with friends and family. I don’t know where he stayed last night, I don’t know where he will stay tonight or tomorrow night. He doesn’t have an address. It is a total mess.”
Wiggins, whose wealth was once put at £13m by the Sunday Times Rich List, has told of his mental health struggles in recent years. His father, an alcoholic, left home when he was two. A pro cyclist, he went to live in his home country of Australia, and was murdered at a party in 2008, when he was 55.
Wiggins also told how he was sexually groomed by a coach when he was 13, something that he “never fully accepted”. He has struggled with the limelight, so that his Olympics and Tour de France victories in 2012 were hard despite his success. He is still working, doing podcasts, interviews and marketing deals.
