Iconic British cycling brand Raleigh has posted losses of more than £30m for 2023.
Despite being profitable in 2021, Raleigh’s latest company accounts reveal losses of £30,146,000 in 2023 following losses of £6,826,000 in 2022.
Company director Chris Slater says the Nottingham-based brand is affected by the market’s “overstocked position and we have experienced high price pressure in the market place”.
Slater, who was appointed in April 2024, highlights that “The uplift in the market driven by COVID has seen some contraction and volumes have returned to pre-COVID levels”.
In his accompanying note to the report, he says Raleigh is in a “strong position” for when the market returns to a “more normal and stable state”.
Raleigh ended 2023 with a 3.5 per cent increase in sales compared to the previous year, with turnover increasing from £55.7m in 2022 to £57.7m. The company’s net operating costs reached £84.4m.
The year also saw Raleigh relaunch the Chopper. Former director Lee Kidger explained to BikeRadar that he hoped the new Chopper would help people rediscover the joy of cycling and that re-releasing a heritage model would help people recognise the more modern side of Raleigh’s business, electric bikes.
Raleigh underwent a business review by its parent company, Accell, at the end of 2023, which left it “right sized”. The review included redundancies at Raleigh’s head office, and closing its parts and accessories brand and its warehouse operations.
Raleigh was sold in 2012 for $100m (£62m) to Accell Group, whose portfolio includes Lapierre, Haibike, Ghost and Babboe.
Accell Group has had a difficult few years itself. Its turnover declined by 10 per cent, from €1.43 billion in 2022 to €1.3 billion in 2023. It has been reported that implementing Accell Group recapitalisation in early 2025 will reduce the company’s debt by around 40 per cent, from €1.4 billion to €800 million.
A press release published by Accell Group in December says: “During 2024, the industry downturn continued. The market still faced high inventories at both manufacturers and dealers, while global economic factors impacted demand. The consequence of this was significant discounting and, ultimately, leading to another year of decline.”
Raleigh’s troubles are reflective of financial difficulties across the cycling industry. Online retailers Wiggle and Chain Reaction were put into administration in October 2023. Orange Bikes called in administrators in January 2024 and we reported GT reducing the size of its workforce and pausing new releases in December.
Brompton’s profits fell from £10 million to under £5,000, according to accounts filed at Companies House for the 12 months to March 31, 2024, with the folding bike brand citing “wider global economic uncertainty and challenges in the cycling industry”.
