Iconic bicycle maker Raleigh loses £30m but stops sales backpedal
Iconic bicycle maker Raleigh slumped to a loss of more than £30m despite arresting a prolonged drop in sales, it has been revealed.
The Nottinghamshire-headquartered company, which was once the largest bicycle maker in the world, has announced a pre-tax loss of £30.1m for 2023 after having also lost £6.8m in 2022.
However, newly-filed accounts with Companies House also show its turnover increased from £55.7m to £57.7m over the same period.
The increase in sales comes after Raleigh’s turnover fell from £74.4m in 2020 to £67.4m in 2021 and again to £55.7m in 2022.
The last time Raleigh reported a pre-tax profit was the £187,000 it achieved in 2021.
Raleigh’s UK turnover increased in 2023 from £51.8m to £56.3m but its sales in the rest of Europe fell from £3.9m to £1.3m.
Raleigh in a ‘strong position’
A statement signed off by the board said: “The directors anticipate that the market place will continue to be very competitive during the coming year.
“Raleigh retains a solid competitive position with considerable brand strength, an independent bicycle dealer network and a strong presence on the high street.
“The uplift in the market driven by Covid has seen some contraction and volumes have returned to pre-Covid levels.
“As a result this has left the market in an overstocked position and we have experienced price pressures in the market place.
“As a result a bull business review was performed at the end of 2023 and the business was right sized and strategic changes to the business structure and product offering were made to protect the business.
“These changes have left the company in a strong position when the market returns to a more normal and stable state.”
The accounts come after the brand survived compulsory strike-off notices for both Raleigh UK and Raleigh Holdings last year after the firms failed to filed their accounts on time.
The news hit the headlines after Raleigh had confirmed redundancies have been made at its headquarters ahead of its closure and relocation.
Raleigh, which was founded in 1887, is owned by Accell which itself is owned by a consortium headed by global investment firm KKR.
Its portfolio includes significant names like Haibike, Winora, Ghost, Batavus, Lapierre, Babbo and Sparta.