Bradley Wiggins’ financial issues continue with contested £1m liquidation claim
Administrators are seeking to recover cycling equipment and motor vehicles that were reported by Wiggins as stolen.
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Bradley Wiggins’ financial issues show no sign of abating as he disputes a £1 million claim made against him by the liquidators of his companies.
‘Wiggins Rights Limited’ entered voluntary liquidation in 2020 with debts of £650,000 while the holding company of Team Wiggins was also wound up with debts of £587,800.
According to Cycling Weekly, the British magazine having followed the story closely, Wiggins is disputing the £1m claim by accountancy firm MHA Macintyre Hudson who are acting as administrators in the case. After a review of Wiggins’ companies’ books, the firm has increased the amount being sought to £979,953 (up from £760,373) and Wiggins is understood to be selling a property in order to raise funds.
According to administrators’ documents from September, Wiggins is in an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA), a financial setup 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.
14 creditors to Wiggins Rights Limited are said to be owed £749,223, including HMRC (the British equivalent of the IRS) which has submitted a claim for £313,447. In 2020 it was reported that HMRC was planning on bringing a bankruptcy petition to Wiggins but his lawyers came to an arrangement and the petition was dismissed.
Included in this list of current creditors is New Team Cycling Limited, the company through which Team Wiggins was run, and which also entered administration alongside Wiggins Rights Limited in late 2020.
Administrators are currently trying to locate cycling equipment and motor vehicles owned by the company which could be used to pay back creditors, but a spokesperson for Wiggins said they had been stolen and a police investigation was ongoing.