Former Leicester snooker champion has bankruptcy order extended
Leicester’s former top ten world snooker star Willie Thorne has had his restrictions extended by four years after breaching his Bankruptcy Restriction Order.
On 29 April 2019, the County Court at Leicester made a further Bankruptcy Restrictions Order (BRO) against Thorne after he borrowed £18,000 without disclosing he was already subject to a BRO.
Thorne (65) will now be subject to bankruptcy restrictions for a further four years to last until 29 April 2026.
The court heard that a Bankruptcy Order (BO) was made against Thorne in May 2015 after he was unable to pay debts of more than £600,000. In addition to this, the court heard he had personal borrowing of more than £300,000.
Restrictions under bankruptcy, such as borrowing more than £500 without telling the lender you’re bankrupt or acting as a director of a company without the court’s permission, are usually discharged after 12 months.
However, between March 2012 and March 2015, Thorne borrowed more than £450,000 while he was insolvent and without the means to pay back his debts.
This led to a Bankruptcy Restrictions Order being made against Thorne due to the large sums involved, which resulted in his restrictions being extended for a further 6 years lasting till July 2022.
Thorne’s latest court action, in which he did not appear, was as a result of him borrowing £18,000 in April 2018 without declaring that he was subject to the BRO from 2016.
Gerard O’Hare, Official Receiver for the Insolvency Service, said: “William Thorne has ignored the terms of his BRO and continued a pattern of borrowing large sums of money.
“Additional restrictions will further limit his activities and act as a safeguard for any potential future creditors.”
Thorne had an illustrious snooker career in the 1980s and 1990s, peaking at number 7 in the world. He was later diagnosed with a gambling addiction and reportedly borrowed £1m to fund it.
