Sir Bradley Wiggins is disputing a near £1m claim against him made by the liquidators of his companies and is selling a property to raise funds.
The 2012 Tour de France winner’s company Wiggins Rights Limited, the company used to “exploit Bradley Wiggins’s name and image rights”, entered voluntary liquidation in 2020 with debts of £650,000.
In an update on the liquidation filed at Companies House last month, administrators Georgina Eason and Michael Sanders of accountancy firm MHA Macintyre Hudson said they had increased the amount being claimed from Wiggins to £979,953.
Administrators are seeking money from Wiggins to repay an overdrawn director’s loan account. In 2021 they had submitted a claim for £760,373 but have now increased it to close to £1m “after reviewing the company’s books and records”.
A spokesperson for Bradley Wiggins said that he disputed the claim.
The claim is the latest in a string of financial issues for the Olympic gold medallist.
In 2020 the Daily Mail reported, Wiggins faced a bankruptcy petition brought by HM Revenue and Customs at the High Court but his lawyers came to an arrangement with the taxman and the petition was dismissed with HMRC’s agreement.
According to administrators documents from September, Wiggins is in a Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA), a financial set-up designed to help people pay back creditors and stave off bankruptcy.
The administrators report that an offer for a property that is “the primary asset within the IVA” has been accepted. Administrators expect that to help pay back £600,695.
They also said they had established that the company owns the legal title to the trademarks “Bradley Wiggins”, “Wiggins” and “Wiggo” and had instructed law firm Lewis Silkin to “assist with extending them beyond their expiry”.
In addition the administrators report that they have “sought to interview one of the company’s directors” but that “due to a lack of response” have instructed solicitors to issue formal correspondence. Though they also noted that an interview was due to take place in late October, after the update was filed.
The creditors to Wiggins Rights Limited include HMRC which has submitted a claim for £313,447 and an unnamed list of 14 other creditors with claims totalling £749,223.
Team Wiggins legacy
Among those creditors is New Team Cycling limited, the company used to run the now defunct Team Wiggins. It entered administration at the same time as Wiggins Rights Limited in October 2020.
An administrators report from October this year said that they had identified “cycling equipment and motor vehicles” as assets of the company and were seeking to recover them for “further potential realisations”.
They added: “I have sought to interview one of the company directors and a key agent of the company's cycle team in respect of the above assets to progress my outstanding investigations. Due to a lack of response, I have instructed solicitors Kingley Napley, to prove in respect of the above assets, my outstanding investigations and to assist with issuing formal correspondence to the Company’s Directors and third parties.”
Catherine and Bradley Wiggins were the company’s sole directors.
A spokesperson for Bradley Wiggins said the equipment and motor vehicles had been stolen and a police investigation was ongoing.
6 ways riders are making their bikes lighter at the Tour of the Alps
Is it time we all just bought gravel bikes rather than road bikes and be done with it?
