Claims faced by Sir Bradley Wiggins’s estate have doubled to almost £2 million in his ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.
The 2012 Tour de France winner’s company, Wiggins Rights Limited, entered voluntary liquidation in 2020, with the former cyclist declared bankrupt earlier this year. At the time, Wiggins’s liquidators, MHA, claimed that his company owed £979,953.53 to creditors.
This figure has since increased to £1,976,157.73, in a “revised uplifted claim” by the liquidation firm.
Georgina Eason, insolvency practitioner at MHA, wrote: “During the prior reporting period, I received response from third parties regarding access to the Company’s Books and Records and have conducted interviews of key personnel. As a result of these investigations, I have been able to substantiate the increased claim within the Director’s [Wiggins’s] bankruptcy proceedings (increased to the sum of £1,976,157.73).”
This is the second time the claim against the former Olympian has been increased, after it rose from £650,000 to £979.953.53 between 2020 and 2022. Eason added that she “does not presently anticipate” any further investigations.
Wiggins was declared bankrupt in June this year.
When asked about the increased claim, Wiggins’s barrister Alan Sellers, director at law firm Bond Turner, said on Wednesday: “Following his bankruptcy this year, Bradley is rebuilding his life, generally and financially.
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“Ultimately, the debt from Wiggins Rights will be part of the bankruptcy which is being conducted by the trustee, and any assets or otherwise will be offset against any debt. Ultimately, it will be up to the trustee to decide what is owed and what isn’t owed.”
The increased claim is unlikely to make much difference to Wiggins’s personal financial circumstances now, as having been declared bankrupt, it will likely be settled out of his estate.
Wiggins has previously said he was the victim of mismanagement and bad advice throughout his career. Speaking on Lance Armstrong’s The Forward podcast in August, Wiggins said: “One of the things I regret is I never paid attention to my financial affairs when I was racing.
“Which is one of the things that happens to athletes. You make a lot of money and if you haven’t got your eyes on it, people take advantage.”
He has previously said he was seeking to pursue money he feels he is owed through the courts.
This week, his barrister Sellers said: “Historically, we’ve been instructed, as Bond Turner, to pursue various individuals and companies for negligent advice. Since the bankruptcy, those proceedings have essentially come to a stop because once you declare bankrupt, you need the permission of the the trustee in bankruptcy, to continue with any proposed or actual proceedings
“As of today’s date I don’t have that permission, but I’m reasonably confident that we will get permission in due course.”
Among the 15 creditors to Wiggins Rights, the British tax office HMRC has submitted a claim for £313,447.48.
Wiggins entered an Individual Voluntary Agreement (IVA), a financial agreement designed to help people pay off creditors and avoid bankruptcy, in 2020, which included him putting one of his properties, worth over £600,000, up for sale. The IVA was terminated this year, and bankruptcy declared.
When asked for comment by Cycling Weekly last November, Wiggins said his financial woes had “gone on for a few years now with no apparent end in sight”.
The 44-year-old has previously disputed the liquidators’ financial claims.
Wiggins Rights Limited was established as a company to run the former cyclist’s affairs during his career, and holds the registered trademarks to the names ‘Bradley Wiggins’, ‘Wiggins’, and ‘Wiggo’. According to the latest update from liquidators MHA, an “interested party” has been identified in the sale of these trademarks, but “no documentation has been exchanged”.
Wiggins and MHA were both contacted for comment in relation to this story.