A Bovingdon firm has helped offload tennis legend Boris Becker’s most prized possessions to save him from bankruptcy.
Wyles Hardy & Co, an independent firm of machinery and business asset valuers and auctioneers, auctioned off £687,000 worth of memorabilia from Becker’s distinguished career.
The timed online auction lasted from July 4 to July 11 and lasted an extra four-and-a-half hours as last minute bids extended the runtime.
The highest bid was £150,250 on the Full Size Sterling Silver Replica of the US Open Trophy by Tiffany & Co, awarded to Boris Becker for his Men’s Singles win against Ivan Lendl in 1989.
Smith & Williamson’s Mark Ford, lead trustee to the bankruptcy estate of Boris Becker, said: “Following huge amounts of global attention on the auction of the trophies and memorabilia from Boris Becker’s career, we are pleased to announce that it has come to a close with the total bids significantly exceeding last year. The bids received show the enduring appeal Mr Becker has with the public, and supports the trustees’ decision to postpone the auction last year and to hold it again this year during the grass court tennis season.
“The highest bid in 2018 for the US Open Trophy was £36,000 and this year it is £150,250, which is fantastic. We will be reporting back to creditors in due course and in line with our obligations. We still hope to locate and recover the missing trophies including six relating to Mr Becker’s successes at Wimbledon and his two Australian Open titles. If anyone has any information relating to these, please contact the trustees in bankruptcy.”
Terry Madden, from Wyles Hardy & Co, said: “The team are extremely pleased with the results of today’s auction. With a total of 495 participants from 32 different nationalities registering to bid in the auction and with some placing bids from the Wimbledon crowd. It appears that free from the uncertainty created by the intervention last year, the sale has exceeded all our estimates.”
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