Job cuts confirmed at Raleigh

Long-standing British bike manufacturer Raleigh has confirmed a round of job cuts. 

The company, founded in 1887, has not revealed how many members of staff have lost their jobs, with redundancies coming at its headquarters in Nottingham. 

In November, Raleigh’s parent company, Accell Group, announced a review of the business in a hope to “provide insight and a path to sustainable growth”. 

Accell Group then began a formal employee consultation and proposed plans to restructure the business. 

The Netherlands-based company has now said these plans “will be implemented”, including the “very difficult decision” to lay off staff. 

In a statement published by the BBC, a spokesperson for Accell Group said: “Following the launch of a business review and employee consultation, our proposed changes to Accell's UK operations have been confirmed and will be implemented.

"These changes will better integrate Accell UK into the wider Group business and position our UK operations for sustainable growth while retaining our HQ in the Nottingham area.

"This has been a very difficult decision and we are supporting those impacted by the changes, while maintaining our service to our bike shop partners and customers."

As part of these changes, Accell Group will shut down Raleigh’s parts and accessories business and close its warehouse operations, partnering instead with an external provider.

Raleigh will also relocate from its current HQ facility in Eastwood, where around 100 people are employed, to a new site in "due course". 

The news comes at a turbulent time for Accell Group - also the parent company of bike brands Lapierre and Haibike - which was reported to have “unsustainable” finances by a credit ratings firm last month. 

In a statement shared with Cycling Weekly, an Accell Group spokesperson said it was restructuring its brands “to take costs out of our business and remain competitive in the long term”. 

They added that the company has “sufficient liquidity” thanks to a €250million (£216.5million) cash injection from its ultimate parent company, KKR. 

Raleigh was acquired by Accell in 2012, having cemented its place as a leading bike manufacturer. 

In recent months, the brand has been subject to cost-cutting measures, with its Nottingham showroom 'Experience Centre' closed in November, less than a year after it opened. 

Cycling Weekly has approached Accell Group for comment and will update this article if and when they respond.