The cycling retail eCommerce giant, Wiggle, has appointed administrators and is up for sale following the financial difficulty put upon it by recent events at parent company, Signa Sports United N.V (SSU).
Wiggle Limited, company number 02667809, was listed this morning on the Insolvency Notices on the United Kingdom's Official Public Record, The Gazette.
The notice confirmed Anthony John Wright and Alastair Rex Massey from FRP Advisory have taken over as administrators.
A statement from the Joint Administrators, sent to Cyclingnews since the news broke, has since revealed that the WiggleCRC brand is set to be put up for sale.
"WiggleCRC, the online sports retail group, is set to be put up for sale following the appointment of Joint Administrators," began the announcement.
"Alastair Massey and Tony Wright of specialist business advisory firm FRP were appointed to Mapil Midco 1 Limited and Wiggle Limited on 25th October 2023. A group of subsidiary companies that form the remainder of WiggleCRC including Chain Reaction Cycles Limited, Chain Reaction Cycles Retail Limited and Hotlines Europe Limited are expected to be placed into administration imminently."
It's unclear whether Mapil Topco Limited, which is defined as the "ultimate parent of the group" and sits directly beneath Germany-based Signa Sports United, will also enter administration.
Wiggle is an online retailer of bikes and accessories, as well as other outdoor sports gear including running, hiking, swimming, and more. It was borne out of a local bike shop, Butlers Cycles, in 1995, and Wiggle officially began trading in 1999.
Chain Reaction Cycles was founded in 1984 in the Northern Ireland village of Ballynure. It too began life as a local bike shop, Ballynure Cycles, and launched its website in 1999.
The two businesses announced a merger in 2016, forming WiggleCRC, which was later acquired by Signa Sports United in 2021.
Alongside the two eCommerce powerhouses, WiggleCRC is also home to household brands such as Vitus, dhb and Nukeproof, as well as B2B supplier Hotlines.
The company has its headquarters in Wiggle's original hometown of Portsmouth, England, operates a 320,000 sq ft warehouse facility a few hours north in Bilston, Wolverhampton, and employs around 450 staff. The statement shared by the Joint Administrators confirms that "all staff have been retained" at this stage.
The statement also provides reassurance to customers.
"We’d like to reassure customers that all operations are running as normal, including the websites and online sales of Wiggle.com, ChainReactionCycles.com and Hotlines-UK.com. Customer service support is live and can be contacted with any queries through the respective websites."
The FAQ section of the Wiggle website echoes the reassurance, stating that "all orders made with Wiggle will continue to be delivered as usual, and our standard terms and conditions still apply for item returns and warranty claims."
How it happened
The brand's financial difficulty was first revealed in summer, when it was reported that WiggleCRC posted a £97 million loss. However, it came to a head in early October when SSU announced plans for an "accelerated strategic realignment and restructuring program," in which it threatened "the termination or winding down of non-performing assets" amid "severe liquidity and profitability challenges."
It cited the bike industry as an underperformer, stating that it "continued to lag management expectations."
The real difficulty began, however, when SSU's major shareholder, Signa Holding, reneged on an unconditional Equity Commitment Letter totalling €150 million after only €6 million had been withdrawn.
These funds were committed to ensure the going concern of SSU and its many subsidiaries, and its sudden removal has sent shockwaves down the chain.
News broke last week confirming WiggleCRC was affected, as suppliers in the indistry revealed that the company had cancelled all existing purchase orders with suppliers and stopped paying invoices.
Just days later - earlier this week - Internetstores, SSU's Europe-based eCommerce umbrella company which houses brands such as Bikester and Probikeshop, filed for insolvency in the Stuttgart District Court.
