- British Olympic cycling legend Bradley Wiggins was once worth £13million
- But the 44-year-old was declared bankrupt over the summer due to his debts
- He now owes almost £2m and is facing having to sell the rights to his own name
Sir Bradley Wiggins could be forced into selling the trademark to his own name after the claims against the bankrupt cycling legend’s estate rose to almost £2million.
The 44-year-old – who won eight Olympic medals for Team GB, including five golds, between 2000 and 2016 – was declared bankrupt over the summer.
Wiggins entered into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) in a bid to settle debts. One of those debts was a £300,000 tax bill owed to HM Revenue and Customs.
Auditing firm MHA filed documents with Companies House before Wiggins was declared bankrupt stating that his image rights firm, Wiggins Rights Ltd, was facing claims totalling nearly £1m.
Earlier this month, MHA’s Georgina Eason published a progress report for the period ending September 14.
It read: ‘During the period under review, the directors IVA has been terminated, and a bankruptcy petition has been granted. I have submitted the company’s increased claim in the bankruptcy proceedings to the sum of £1,976,157.73.
Bradley Wiggins pictured in 2012 sitting on a gold throne in London after becoming an Olympic champion in the men’s road cycling time trial event
Wiggins, 44, has since been declared bankrupt and he is now in almost £2million of debt
During his cycling career, Wiggins won eight Olympic medals, as well as the Tour de France
‘I have identified that the company holds the legal title to a small number of trademarks. During the period under review, my agents have identified an interested party and are presently seeking to discuss a proposed sale.’
The trademarks likely to be sold include ‘Bradley Wiggins’, ‘Wiggins’, and ‘Wiggo’.
The latest report was published after Wiggins told Lance Armstrong on an episode of the disgraced cycling icon’s podcast that he ‘should have paid more attention’ to his finances during his career.
Wiggins – who became the first Brit to win the Tour de France in 2012 and was knighted in 2013 – was said to be ‘sofa-surfing’ in June after the £975,000 barn he once shared with his ex-wife Cath and their children had been repossessed by a building society and sold.
‘I’m in this situation now but because of the mess that’s been created,’ admitted Wiggins – who was once worth £13m.
‘It has been rumbling on for quite a few years now, this hasn’t just happened overnight.’
In September, Wiggins went on his first bike ride ‘in nearly three years’ and offered fans the chance to join him on a 50-mile route across Staffordshire at the cost of £50 per person.