Raleigh sold to Dutch rival Accell
Classic bike brand Raleigh was today sold to Dutch rival Accell in a deal valuing the 125-year-old company at £62.2m (€76m).
The firm, which was founded in Nottingham and is perhaps most famous for its Raleigh Chopper, will complement Accell’s stable of brands including Batavus and Sparta.
The deal, which still needs the approval of regulators, is likely to net Raleigh chief executive Alan Finden-Crofts a multimillion-pound windfall, as he is one the company’s largest shareholders after he led a management buyout in 2001.
Raleigh began life when Frank Bowden bought an interest in a small bike company in the city’s Raleigh Street in 1887.
Raleigh, which sold 850,000 bikes worldwide last year and whose brands include Avenir and Diamondback, still designs bikes in Nottingham, where it employs more than 100 staff, but they are made in the Far East.
It has grown to become a company with sales of £195m (€238.27m) a year and 430 employees. Its bikes have also been ridden by Tour de France winners.
