Bankrupt & homeless Bradley Wiggins faces selling his own NAME as debt spirals to £2million
BANKRUPT and homeless Bradley Wiggins faces selling his own name after his debt spiralled to £2million.
Cycling legend Sir Bradley owes £1m more than was first calculated, number crunchers handling his bankruptcy have revealed.
A team of liquidators raking through the wreckage of his firm Wiggins Rights Ltd had found that he owed just under £1m and earlier this year he was declared bankrupt.
But a new report filed this month to Companies House reveals that the debts have more than doubled.
Senior liquidator Georgian Eason says she is looking to sell the rights to trademarks like Wiggo, Wiggins and Bradley Wiggins to raise cash.
The cyclist was declared bankrupt by a court after he couldn’t keep up payments on his Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) to pay his creditors – with hundreds of thousands of pounds owed to the tax office.
She said: “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 continued to liaise with the IVA Supervisor / Trustee in Bankruptcy and have submitted the Company’s increased claim in the Bankruptcy proceedings (to the sum of £1,976,157.73).
“As mentioned in my previous Progress Report, I have identified that the Company holds the legal title to a small number of Trademarks.
“During the Period under review, my agents have identified an interested party and are presently seeking to discuss a proposed sale.
“I have identified that the Company holds the legal title to the following registered Trademarks: ‘Bradley Wiggins’, ‘Wiggins’, ‘Wiggo’.
“During the prior reporting period, I instructed valuation agents, Axia Valuation Services, to progress the marketing and sale of the Intellectual Property.
“During the Period under review, an interested party was identified but no documentation has been exchanged in respect of the prospective sale.”
The cyclist said in August: “I realise now the importance… I should have paid more attention to it,” he told Lance Armstrong’s podcast.
“Because you get to the point then where I’m in this situation now but because of the mess that’s been created.
“Because it’s been rumbling on for quite a few years now this hasn’t just happened overnight.”
Wiggins Rights Limited, the company that ran much of his affairs during his career and which was the parent firm of the now defunct Team Wiggins, entered liquidation in September 2020.
In November last year, liquidators revealed they had yet to be paid any of the £979,953 they claimed from Wiggins in 2022 in part to pay off an outstanding director’s loan.
Wiggins has previously said he disputes the claim. Now that figure stands at nearly £2m.
“I realise now the importance… I should have paid more attention to it,” he told Armstrong’s podcast.
Sir Bradley’s representatives have been contacted for comment.
PEDDLING UP
The eight-time Olympic medallist and Tour de France winner was declared bankrupt by a court in June.
Bradley’s home was repossessed and sold off and trustees have been appointed to seize his assets – including his medals and trophies.
But he has now got a new job hosting a Tour de France podcast with disgraced cycling star Lance Armstrong.
Seven-time Tour de France winner Armstrong was stripped of his titles and banned for life after he admitted doping.
Speaking on the podcast, he told Armstrong how he had put on weight and started smoking before quitting.
He said: “I think I went through this transition period. It’s also about finding a new equilibrium, a balance.”
It comes after Bradley’s lawyer said he is bankrupt, homeless and has “lost everything”.
The Olympic cyclist has suffered a litany of financial problems with his business ventures.
Bradley’s lawyer Alan Sellers said his converted £975,000 barn in the north Lancashire countryside has been repossessed and sold.
Ex-wife Cath has allowed Bradley to stay at her home 20 miles away in Lytham St Anne’s, Sellers added.
He told the Mail: “Brad is sofa-surfing. It is a total mess. He has lost absolutely everything.
“His family home, his home in Majorca, his savings and investments.
“He doesn’t have a penny. He doesn’t have an address. It’s a very sad state of affairs.”
Bradley is said to view his medals and trophies as meaningless “junk”, but could fetch up to £250,000 if he flogged them to a collector.
His business Wiggins Rights Limited entered liquidation in 2020 owing £650,000, including £313,447 to HM Revenue & Customs.
The firm – owned by Sir Bradley, his ex-wife Cath and mum Linda – owns the trademarks to Bradley Wiggins, Wiggo and Wiggins.