Former England rugby captain Phil Vickery has declared bankruptcy with documents showing he owes £100,000 to a company that is in liquidation.
Mr Vickery, 48, from Bath, who was part of the triumphant England team that won the 2003 World Cup, filed for bankruptcy using the debtor’s petition last month.
His management consultancy Vix Limited is in liquidation and owed the company £97,806. The company also owes HMRC £71,000 in VAT, PAYE and National Insurance payments.
The Adjudicator’s Office granted his request to file for bankruptcy on February 21, and on or before that date he withdrew from at least four businesses.
A source said he had racked up debts of “hundreds of thousands of pounds” with many contacts and HMRC.
Former England captain Phil Vickery has filed for bankruptcy. Filed documents confirm the 48-year-old will remain bankrupt until February next year.
The Adjudicator’s Office accepted Vickery’s request to file for bankruptcy on Feb. 21, and on or before that date he withdrew from at least four businesses.
In 2011, Vickery competed on the sixth series of Celebrity Masterchef and emerged as the winner.
England’s Mike Catt (left) and Phil Vickery celebrate victory after England defeated France 14-9 during the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
Phil Vickery advances as David Skrela tackles him at a rugby match between England and France at Twickenham in August 2007.
Vickery has lent his name to several charities since leaving rugby and is a patron of The Country Food Trust Charity, which produces food and donates it to people in need.
Documents lodged by the Insolvency Service confirm it will remain bankrupt for 12 months until February 21 next year.
On the day the bankruptcy was made official, he also resigned as a director of his business at Killock Limited, a Cheltenham-based management consultancy.
The company, created 17 months ago, had not presented accounts. He also resigned as a director of No 3 Restaurants Limited on the same day and resigned from his board positions at Raging Bull Group Limited and Creed Food Service Limited in January this year.
Last year another consulting firm, Spring Star Consulting, dissolved after less than two years and without filing any accounts.
Phil Vickery Holdings Limited was also closed in 2023 after three years and presented only inactive accounts.
Vickery was inducted into the Premiership Rugby Hall of Fame in 2015. He was a tighthead prop who played in all seven of England’s 2003 World Cup matches. He was appointed MBE after the victory.
He also captained the team at the 2007 World Cup in France, where England lost to South Africa in the final.
After leaving rugby, Vickery has given his support to a number of charities including The Pied Piper Appeal and Wooden Spoon.
He is an official ambassador for both the Prince’s Countryside Fund and the RBS banking group’s RugbyForce scheme.
He is also a patron of The Country Food Trust Charity, which produces food and donates it to people in need. In 2011, Vickery competed on the sixth series of Celebrity Masterchef and emerged as the winner.
In 2020, Vickery revealed that he had undergone an MRI to see if his years of rugby had caused him a lasting brain injury.
Vickery is currently one of more than 200 retired players suing World Rugby over concussions they fear have left them with a brain injury, along with Mark Regan and former Welsh poster Gavin Henson.
Others, including Steve Thompson, Alix Popham, Colin Charvis and Sean Lamont, were also named as plaintiffs in the class action during a case management hearing last December.
Proceedings of the planned group litigation order against World Rugby, the RFU and the Welsh Rugby Union will resume at the Royal Courts of Justice in April.
Vickery was inducted into the Premiership Rugby Hall of Fame in 2015. He was a tighthead prop who played in all seven of England’s 2003 World Cup matches. He was appointed MBE after the victory.
After leaving rugby, Vickery has given his support to several charities including The Pied Piper Appeal and Wooden Spoon.
Vickery (centre) kisses the trophy after England’s victory against Australia in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final
Vickery is also one of more than 200 retired players who are now suing World Rugby over concussions they fear have left them with a brain injury, along with Mark Regan (left) and former Welsh poster Gavin Henson (right).
Given that Thompson and other plaintiffs were suffering from serious post-career health problems, including early-onset dementia, their lawyer Susan Rodway, of law firm Rylands Garth, argued in court that the defendants “should have known about the neurological complications.” long-term”.
In a statement, World Rugby said: ‘Legal action prevents us from coming forward to support the players involved, many of whom are being named publicly for the first time today. But we want them to know that we care deeply about their struggles, that we listen to them and that they are members of the rugby family.
‘The court’s decision for the second time that the plaintiffs’ attorneys must provide the previously requested information is a positive step. “Player welfare is rugby’s top priority.”
Meanwhile, as they faced the threat of costly legal action against them, the RFU published upbeat results for the 2022-23 financial year, with revenues “significantly higher” at £221.4m, up from £189.1m. million pounds sterling from the previous year. .
