Olympic cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins has 'lost absolutely everything' as star faces selling medals following bankruptcy
15 June 2024, 18:15 | Updated: 15 June 2024, 18:53
Olympic cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins is bankrupt, homeless and has "lost absolutely everything", according to his lawyer.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Wiggins, 44, rose to fame as the first Briton to win the Tour de France, but has since experienced persistent financial difficulties with his business ventures.
Wiggins, from Dolphinholme in Lancaster, won eight Olympic medals, including five gold medals, before retiring in 2016.
However, he now is at risk of having to relinquish all of his prizes as he has been declared bankrupt by a court on June 3.
There will be trustees to seize and get rid of his assets, as former tennis star Boris Becker was similarly ordered to do after experiencing bankruptcy in 2022.
Sir Bradley's lawyer, Alan Sellers, has now said the Olympian's converted barn in north Lancashire, which is valued at £975,000, has been repossessed by a building society and sold several months ago.
Bradley shares three children with his ex-wife Cath who had been permitting him to stay at a redbrick semi 20 miles away in Lytham St Annes, to "help him out".
Mr Sellers told The Daily Mail: "In reality, Brad is sofa-surfing. He stays with friends and family.
"I don’t know where he stayed last night, I don’t know where he will stay tonight or tomorrow night. He doesn’t have an address."
He continued: "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. It’s a very sad state of affairs."
.He went on to say that Sir Bradley is "embarrassed" by the turn of events.
According to a sports memorabilia value, the five gold medals on their own could bring in £250,000.
But since his retirement, Sir Bradley claims to see them as meaningless "junk".
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.
A spokesman said at the time the cyclist's "involvement in the companies was not day to day" and that "this in no way affects Bradley’s personal solvency".
Liquidators made a £1million claim against him - something he disputed.
A claim for £760,373 made a year prior had been escalated, with administrators, who were seeking money from to pay back an overdrawn director's loan, "reviewing the company’s books and records".
In the September of that year administrators' documents showed that Sir Bradley entered into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) in order to stave off bankruptcy.
Sir Bradley previously said the financial difficulties are a "very historical matter" that "involves professional negligence" by others and has "left a s***pile with my name at the front of it to deal with".
He continued: “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.”
Speaking to The Times, Paul Rouse, head of client services at the accountancy firm Forvis Mazars, said: A bankruptcy trustee will be appointed to seize and sell his assets, potentially including medals and trophies of his successful sporting past, as was the case with Boris Becker recently.“
