‘Statto’ the TV betting expert has been declared bankrupt

He was the public-school-educated nerd who guided millions of armchair punters on where to place their bets. But it emerged yesterday that Angus Loughran, known to the nation as “Statto” for his encyclopaedic grasp of sporting facts and figures, was not quite as good with money as his public image might suggest.

The Insolvency Service confirmed that Mr Loughran, the BBC betting expert, was unable to pay his creditors and had been declared insolvent at a hearing in Manchester County Court earlier this month.



Details of how much he owes and to whom are not known but the announcement will surprise the hordes of punters who thought their fivers safe with a man who knew every sporting statistic in the book, from football to horse racing and golf to tennis.

Bankruptcy is a legal means of freeing a person from overwhelming debts and to make sure that their assets are shared out fairly among those who are owed money. A firm or person who is owed money can file a petition for a bankruptcy order to be made against the debtor if at least £750 is owed in unsecured debts. The official receiver will take over the legal control of the assets to pay creditors.