Bradley Wiggins ‘at risk of being declared BANKRUPT’, as the five-time Olympic gold medallist has ‘a near £1m claim against him that remains unpaid’
- Former cyclist Bradley Wiggins is reportedly at risk of being declared bankrupt
- He has allegedly not paid nearly £1m made in a claim against him last year
- Wiggins is one of Britain’s greatest cyclists after winning five Olympic golds
British cycling icon Bradley Wiggins is reportedly at risk of being declared bankrupt.
Wiggins, 43, who won five Olympic gold medals during his decorated career, is still yet to pay a claim against him of nearly £1m according to the liquidators of his company, as reported by Cycling Weekly.
He has been in an Individual Voluntary Agreement (IVA), which attempts to aid people looking to pay off creditors and avoid bankruptcy, for over three years.
However, liquidators revealed this week that Wiggins has not paid any of the £979,953 they claimed from him last year. This sum is in part to pay off an outstanding director’s loan, although Wiggins has previously disputed the claim.
Wiggins had been expected to pay the liquidators just over £600,000 largely raised from the sale of a property in Spain, but he was issued with a ‘notice of breach’ of his IVA earlier this year.
Bradley Wiggins is reportedly at risk of being declared bankrupt
Wiggins won five Olympic gold medals during a glittering career on the road and track
The liquidators stated in a report that dates back to September 19 that Wiggins’ IVA is likely to be terminated following the breach which may then lead to him being declared bankrupt.
The report read: ‘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.’
This update is the latest blow for Wiggins after struggling with financial difficulties for a number of years.
His professional development cycling group Team Wiggins went into liquidation in September 2020 and is now defunct.
In the hope of raising funds, Wiggins has put the trademarks to his own name, ‘Wiggins’ and ‘Wiggo’ up for sale.
Wiggins has admitted he has struggled with financial difficulties ‘for a few years’
He admitted to Cycling Weekly that his financial struggles had ‘gone on for a few years now with no apparent end in sight’.
He continued: ‘It’s a very historical matter that involves professional negligence from [others] that has left a s**t 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 centre as a result.’
Wiggins’ woes have come after he called time on his cycling career back in 2016.
He announced his retirement just months after winning his fifth Olympic gold in Rio in the men’s team pursuit.
Wiggins was at the peak of his powers in 2012, becoming the first Brit to win the Tour de France that year
That was his fifth Olympics, and his final gold came 16 years after he picked up his first medal, a bronze, in Sydney.
Wiggins went on to achieve national hero status, reaching the peak of his powers in 2012.
That year he became the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France, and he followed that up by winning the men’s time trial at the London Olympics just weeks later.
Wiggins was named Sports Personality of the Year at the end of 2012, and would go on to achieve more success on the road and the track over the next four years before calling it quits at the age of 36.
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