Former England rugby captain and World Cup winner is declared BANKRUPT as documents show he owes ‘hundreds of thousands of pounds’

Former England rugby captain Phil Vickery has been declared bankrupt with documents showing he owes £100,000 to a company in liquidation.

Vickery, 48, from Bath, who was part of England’s triumphant 2003 World Cup-winning team, applied to declare himself bankrupt through a debtor’s petition last month.

His management consultancy Vix Limited is in liquidation and he owes the company £97,806. The company also owes HMRC £71,000 in VAT, PAYE and National Insurance benefits.

The Office of the Adjudicator granted his petition to declare bankruptcy on February 21, and on or before that date he withdrew from at least four companies.

One source said he had built up debts of ‘hundreds of thousands of pounds’ to many contacts and HMRC.

The filings confirm that the 48-year-old will remain bankrupt until February next year

Documents filed by the Insolvency Service confirm he will remain bankrupt for 12 months until February 21 next year.

On the day the bankruptcy was made official, he also stepped down as director of his company from Killock Limited, a management consultancy based in Cheltenham.

The company, which was founded 17 months ago, had not filed any accounts. He also quit as director of No 3 Restaurants Limited on the same day and resigned from directorships at Raging Bull Group Limited and Creed Food Service Limited in January this year.

Last year, another consultancy firm Spring Star Consulting was dissolved after less than two years and no longer filed accounts.

Phil Vickery Holdings Limited was also closed in 2023 after three years and had only filed dormant accounts.

Vickery was a tight end who played in all seven of England’s World Cup matches in 2003. After the win he was awarded an MBE.

He also captained the team at the 2007 World Cup in France, where England lost to South Africa in the final.

Vickery is also one of more than 200 retired players now suing over concussion injuries they fear they have suffered, along with Mark Regan and former Welsh poster boy Gavin Henson.

These public figures, and others such as Steve Thompson, Alix Popham, Colin Charvis and Sean Lamont, were among those named as claimants at the Royal Courts of Justice at a case management hearing last December.

Proceedings under the planned Group Litigation Order against World Rugby, the RFU and the Welsh Rugby Union will resume in April.

His front row teammate Mark Regan was also involved in the concussion case against World Rugby, the RFU and the WRU

Former Welsh Rugby poster boy Gavin Henson was also named as a plaintiff at the Royal Courts of Justice

Because Thompson and other claimants suffered serious health problems after their careers, such as early-onset dementia, their lawyer Susan Rodway, of law firm Rylands Garth, argued in court that the defendants ‘should have known about the long-term neurological complications’.

In a statement, World Rugby said: ‘Legal action is preventing us from supporting 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 and that they are part of the rugby family.

“The court’s ruling for the second time that plaintiffs’ lawyers must provide previously requested information is a positive step. The welfare of the players is the top priority in rugby.”

Meanwhile, facing the threat of costly legal action against them, the RFU published optimistic results for the 2022-2023 financial year, with ‘significantly higher’ revenues of £221.4m – up from £189, 1 million the year before. .