Wiggle’s future uncertain as parent company seizes funding
The future of Wiggle could be on the line after its parent company’s decision to terminate a €150m (£130m) lifeline to its sports division last week caused a series of concerns within the umbrella of subsidiaries.
Signa Holdings’s decision to terminate the funding to Signa Sports United (SSU), which was announced last Monday, soon led online retailer Tennis-Point, a subsidiary of SSU, to file for insolvency.
As the SSU raised concerns about others that could follow suit, Wiggle — another prominent brand under the SSU banner since 2021 — is now in the spotlight.
In a statement last week, SSU said “after many years of mutually trusted collaboration and reliable financing,” it had relied on the Equity Commitment Letter, dated 26 June, “to continue to draw funds to meet its near-term obligations and for its going concern assessment of the company and its subsidiaries.”
The online bicycle retailer had seen favourable times during an earlier boom of demand for bikes, The Sunday Times reported, after private equity firm Bridgepoint purchased it for £180m in 2011.
However, the post-pandemic slump had hit Wiggle hard, the paper said, leaving SSU to settle £313m of debts.
Sales for the sports company were not flattering last year, as they fell 30 per cent to £252.5m with a total loss of £111.2m.
Wiggle, SSU and Signa Holdings did not immediately respond to Morning Wire ‘s request for comment.