Five-time Team GB Olympic gold medallist at risk of being declared BANKRUPT over near-£1million unpaid debt
SIR BRADLEY WIGGINS is at risk of declaring bankruptcy after failing to pay back debt totalling almost £1million.
The five-time Olympic gold medallist has been in an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) since July 2020 which is designed to help him pay off creditors.
But liquidators have revealed they are yet to be paid any of the £979,953 they claimed from Wiggins in 2022 to pay off a loan from a director.
A spokesperson for Wiggins said he disputes the claim.
The former cyclist is set to pay back around £600,695 through the sale of a property in Spain, claim liquidators.
Wiggins’ trademarks of his own name and nickname ‘Wiggo’ have also been put up for sale.
The Tour de France winner has been issued with a “notice of breach” of the conditions of his arrangement.
The liquidators stated in a report: “Unfortunately the joint supervisor has informed creditors… if the breach is not remedied then the IVA may be terminated.
“In the event the IVA is terminated the director may become subject to bankruptcy proceedings and this would potentially substantially increase the expected timeframe for recovery of the outstanding directors loan account.
“I expect that the termination of the IVA should be confirmed within the next few months.”
Wiggins Rights Limited, the parent company of the 43-year-old’s now-defunct Team Wiggins, entered liquidation in September 2020.
The former Team Sky star responded by promising legal action, though stated his legal representatives had experienced “a fair amount of difficulty” in accessing documents.
A statement read: “It’s a very historical matter that involves professional negligence from [others] that has left a s*** pile with my name at the front of it to deal with.
“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 center as a result.”
SPORTING GREAT
Wiggins is one of Great Britain’s all-time sporting greats.
He won five Olympic gold medals during his career, starting at the 2004 Games where he won the Individual Pursuit.
At the 2008 Olympics he won TWO golds and then at the London Olympics in 2012 won the Road Time Trial.
He memorably sat upon a gold throne after his victory.
His final gold medal came at the 2016 Games in Rio.
Arguably the greatest achievement of his career was becoming the first ever British winner of the Tour de France with his victory in 2012.
He would be crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year that same year.