The Nottingham-based firm, Raleigh Cycle which has been making bicycles in the UK for 125 years has been sold to Accell for £62m; the deal with the Dutch rival is expected to go through, subject to competition authority approval, at the end of May. Such is the iconic status of some of Raleigh’s best known bikes, including the classic 70’s Chopper, that even those that never actually owned one seem to have false memory syndrome suggesting they did. Once the biggest cycle manufacturer in the world (employing more than 8,000 in the post-war years), Raleigh still employs almost 450 people, although many of these jobs are already global, with much of the manufacturing already taking place in the Far East. Accell Group, who had a turnover of €628.5 million in 2011, are best known for brands including Batavus, Koga, Sparta, Winora, Hercules, Hai Bike, Ghost, Lapierre, Atala, Redline, Tunturi and XLC.
Commenting on the sale, Mark Gouldthorp, MD Raleigh UK, said: ‘This is great news for everyone involved with Raleigh in the UK – be they employees, retail partners or suppliers. We are confident in Raleigh UK’s current business strategy and are also very optimistic of the benefits to be gained by being part of the Accell Group of companies. With the synergies we have already identified, Raleigh UK expects to see accelerated sales growth both in the UK and in export markets within 2012.’