{"id":435559,"date":"2026-02-20T05:43:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T05:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/435559\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T05:43:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T05:43:14","slug":"the-ultimate-bike-industry-boom-and-bust-disaster-story-private-equity-firm-that-invested-huge-sums-in-raleighs-parent-company-has-lost-over-1-billion-cycling-news-bike-reviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/435559\/","title":{"rendered":"The ultimate bike industry boom and bust disaster story? Private equity firm that invested huge sums in Raleigh\u2019s parent company has lost over \u00a31 billion – Cycling News | Bike Reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 2022, encouraged by the rapid sales of bikes and e-bikes during the Covid pandemic, US-based private equity giant KKR struck a \u20ac1.8 billion deal to take over Accell Group<\/a>, the parent company of Raleigh<\/a>, Babboe, Lapierre, and a host of other cycling brands.<\/p>\n

But just four years on from that high-stakes lockdown-era bet, KKR has announced this week that it is stepping away from Accell and handing its remaining equity to the group\u2019s biggest lenders.<\/p>\n

That decision means the global investment firm and its backers have haemorrhaged well over a \u00a31bn since backing Accell in 2022, a huge loss described by one industry insider as \u201cthe biggest figure I\u2019ve seen in all this mess\u201d.<\/p>\n

KKR is set to lose all of the \u20ac1.1bn equity used to purchase Accell in 2022, along with the additional hundreds of millions they pumped into the company to help stabilise it as the harsh reality of the post-Covid landscape hit the cycling industry.<\/p>\n

> Raleigh suffers \u00a330 million loss in 2023 despite sales increasing by 3.5%, with \u201cmaterial uncertainty\u201d potentially casting \u201csignificant doubt\u201d over business \u2013 but directors claim iconic British brand is in \u201cstrong position\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

In statements issued by both companies on Wednesday, it was announced that Accell has secured new investment, with the incoming lenders forming part of the company\u2019s ownership group.<\/p>\n

The development forms part of the Amsterdam-based company\u2019s second debt restructuring in just over a year<\/a>, and saw most of its lenders agree to a new deal that would \u201csignificantly reduce Accell\u2019s total debt\u201d and provide it with additional funding, enabling it to the avoid insolvency or liquidation.<\/p>\n

According to Accell, the restructuring process forms part of the bike company\u2019s \u201cplans to fundamentally transform the business\u201d, with KKR stating that the new ownership will help support the brand\u2019s ongoing recovery and execution of its business plan.<\/p>\n

Accell\u2019s ownership overhaul brings to an end a turbulent four years for the Amsterdam-based company, which owns bike brands such as Raleigh, Babboe, Winora, Sparta, Lapierre, and Ghost, since it was taken over by KKR in a \u20ac1.8bn deal in 2022.<\/p>\n

Despite KKR\u2019s hopes for a continued surge in e-bike sales after the pandemic, Accell\u2019s growth was slow, while supply chain disruptions led to shortages of some components. Meanwhile, like many other bike brands in the early 2020s, KKR underestimated the Covid-era overstock of other parts, leading to heavy discounting and falling revenues.<\/p>\n

Last year, we reported that Accell had suffered a loss of \u20ac390 million (\u00a3325 million) in 2023<\/a>, after posting a \u20ac27 million profit the previous year. Its net sales in 2023 were \u20ac1,294 million, down 10.1 per cent compared with \u20ac1,439 million in 2022.<\/p>\n

\"NewNew Raleigh headquarters at Durban House, Eastwood (Raleigh)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Historic British bike manufacturer Raleigh, meanwhile, recorded a loss of \u00a330.1 million before taxes during the first year of KKR\u2019s ownership, with an independent audit claiming that \u201cmaterial uncertainty may cast significant doubt on the company\u2019s ability to continue as a going concern\u201d.<\/p>\n

In November 2023, Raleigh also announced a series of job cuts and major restructuring plans<\/a>, which included completely shutting down its Parts and Accessories department and contracting out its warehousing and logistics to a third party, the brand stating that the move reflected a \u201cchallenging market\u201d.<\/p>\n

Earlier that year, KKR was forced to loan Accell \u20ac300m, before the company\u2019s first restructuring, which took place last February, saw \u20ac600m cut from the company\u2019s \u20ac1.4bn debt load<\/a>, enabling KKR and its shareholder, Teslin, to retain control.<\/p>\n

However, financial uncertainty has continued to plague the company, which earlier this year sold its titanium frame brand Van Nicholas to Italian cargo bike company Velo-ce, and its Nishiki bike brand to Turkey-based Kron Bicycle.<\/p>\n

In August 2025, Accell was reported to have closed a factory in Heerenveen<\/a>, which produced around 20 per cent of the company\u2019s total bikes, moving that facility\u2019s production to Hungary, leading to 160 jobs lost.<\/p>\n

> Babboe is now recalling a third of its cargo bikes over safety concerns<\/a><\/p>\n

According to the new restructuring plan, KKR has handed its equity in Accell to the Dutch company\u2019s lenders and will not retain any shareholding.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter two years of hard work, we are well advanced in our plans to fundamentally transform the business,\u201d Accell CEO Jonas Nilsson said in a statement issued on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d like to thank KKR for its significant support and commitment as a responsible shareholder throughout its ownership. The business is in a much stronger position as a result of shareholder support, and this new agreement is a major milestone in achieving the exciting potential of our portfolio of iconic brands.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RaleighRaleigh Chopper 70\u2019s<\/p>\n

In its own statement KKR said that it had assumed \u201cgreater responsibility\u201d for the business in response to the \u201cseverity and duration\u201d of cycling\u2019s post-Covid slump, but that Accell\u2019s transition to new ownership has coincided with the company \u201cstabilising\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring its ownership, KKR supported a wide-ranging programme of operational and organizational measures, consistent with KKR\u2019s role as a long-term and responsible investor,\u201d the private equity firm said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis included continuing to support growth initiatives and new product launches, while strengthening leadership, improving liquidity and resilience, and centralising operations as part of the One Accell strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese actions were taken to ensure continuity of operations, support Accell\u2019s customers and partners, and position the business for a return to sustainable profitability as market conditions normalise.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a result of the severity and duration of the industry downturn, Accell\u2019s capital structure evolved and lenders assumed greater economic responsibility for the business.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the company now stabilised and the season soon to pick up, Accell will transition to a new ownership structure in which lenders, working closely with management, are positioned to support the company\u2019s ongoing recovery and execution of its business plan.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In 2022, encouraged by the rapid sales of bikes and e-bikes during the Covid pandemic, US-based private equity…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":435560,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-435559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/435560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}