Lawrence Dallaglio, declared bankrupt after his divorce from Alice last year, is accused in High Court documents of excessive spending of £200,000 over six months on clothes, alcohol and travel—while trustees say he left “nothing” to pay debts and tax. He deni
Lawrence Dallaglio’s life has been publicly measured in court documents since he was declared bankrupt last year—yet now the dispute is sharpening into something more immediate and painful: spending that trustees say left “nothing” for creditors, even as a divorce settlement remains unpaid.
The former England rugby World Cup winner. who won the 2003 Rugby World Cup with England. was declared bankrupt after he and Alice—his wife of almost 20 years—divorced. The breakdown of that relationship had already led to a hard. visible financial outcome: Dallaglio was forced to sell their family home for £2.4 million last May. The property had previously been marketed for £3.3 million months earlier.
The day after the sale. Dallaglio was declared bankrupt and was ordered to hand over his share of the proceeds to help pay off an overdrawn directors loan of more than £366. 500. In England and Wales. restrictions imposed by bankruptcy typically end after 12 months. but a judge extended them for Dallaglio for three months until August 7 after an application.
Now. in High Court documents obtained by The Telegraph. Dallaglio is accused of continuing a lavish pattern of spending despite his bankruptcy status. Trustees’ claims describe a six-month period in which Dallaglio allegedly earned around £200. 000 between August and January. then spent it all without leaving anything to pay tax or his divorce settlement.
The spending figures laid out are specific and stark. Each month, the alleged “excessive spending” included £1,000 on clothing and footwear, £1,000 on travel and transport, £800 on groceries and £500 on alcohol. Trustees also alleged that there was evidence of an “undisclosed bank account. ” raising questions about whether the true shape of his finances has ever been fully presented to those managing the bankruptcy.
A central part of the trustees’ case came through the process used to push for payments from surplus income: an Income Payments Order (IPO). An application continued after Nick Parsk, a joint-trustee, sought to implement an IPO against Dallaglio. An IPO is a court directive requiring a bankrupt person to pay a portion of surplus income to their trustee to help repay creditors.
In what is known as a “skeleton argument” filed at the High Court. Parsk claimed Dallaglio “cancelled several appointments” where his rugby career memorabilia was to be valued. The argument also said information on income and spending was supplied “sporadically and unclearly. ” and that it arrived “late and incompletely.”.
Parsk’s application went further, stating that Dallaglio’s spending habits meant there was “currently nothing left over to go towards the claims against his bankruptcy estate.” The document added: “There are no signs of Mr Dallaglio voluntarily reducing his spending.”
It also pointed to a mismatch between expected income and intended expenditure. saying figures supplied earlier in the year showed expected income decreased while intended expenditure did not. The argument further claimed that it only came to the applicant’s attention at that time that “all earnings in the period 01.08.25 to 31.01.26 have been spent without savings for tax.”.
Dallaglio rejects those claims. In his witness statement, he insisted he had “made significant efforts” to collaborate with the trustee and said he “never sought to frustrate or evade” the application for an extension to his bankruptcy. He also said he did not conceal assets.
His explanation for how and when he engaged with the process points to grief and responsibility: he told the court that his level of engagement was impacted by the death of his late father at the end of last year. during which he served as his “primary carer.” Dallaglio added that he then “effectively handed over my entire inheritance to the bankruptcy estate.”.
His lawyer, Sanjeev Punj of SP Legal Solutions, said the trustee’s skeleton argument contains allegations that are “strongly disputed” by Dallaglio and “not accepted.”
The broader financial picture in this dispute is already severe. Documents published in December revealed Dallaglio owed a further £423. 570 in overdrawn director’s loans for his failed sports company Lawrence Dallaglio Ltd. He also owed more than £60,000 to liquidators—more than two years after they were appointed.
There are also claims totalling about £350,000 and £61,000 by HM Revenue & Customs and two other creditors. For Dallaglio. whose club career was spent with Wasps. the fight now extends beyond the original bankruptcy decision and into whether the way he handled money after that ruling can change what ultimately happens to creditors and the divorce settlement.
Lawrence Dallaglio bankruptcy Alice Dallaglio divorce settlement High Court Income Payments Order undisclosed bank account Wasps Rugby World Cup 2003 HM Revenue & Customs
So he’s bankrupt but still buying stuff??
This sounds like one of those rich people rules don’t apply things. If he had “nothing” for creditors then why was he even traveling and spending on clothes. Smh.
Wait I thought the divorce settlement meant she would get paid out already? But now they’re saying it’s still unpaid and he spent his money. Not sure if the tax part is separate or what.
£200k on alcohol and travel while being bankrupt… I mean 2003 World Cup winner or not, that’s wild. Also they sold the house for £2.4m after it was listed for £3.3m, so yeah the numbers are basically bad all around. I’m guessing he probably had lawyers telling him he could still spend for like “living” costs, but then it turned into a mess.