'Considerable interest' as Wiggle CRC administrators launch sales process

The hunt for a new buyer for Wiggle CRC has taken a step forward, with administrators Alastair Massey and Tony Wright confirming that they have officially launched the sales process.

The move comes as the administrators claim to have "received considerable interest to take the business forward" and they have encouraged any other potential buyers to get in contact.

“This is one of the market’s best-known stable of brands and has solid fundamentals and further growth potential,” Alastair Massey said in a press release.

“In the few weeks we’ve been in office, we’ve seen strong trading continue thanks to a loyal and extensive customer base. This is why there has been considerable interest already in the business and we expect the sale process to gather pace rapidly. Any remaining potential buyers should come forward now and express their interest.”

• Read more: Over 100 job losses at Wiggle CRC after administrators take control

Wiggle CRC, whose brands include Wiggle, Chain Reaction Cycles and Hotlines, filed for administration on October 24 and the running of the business was passed over to FRP Advisory, who appointed Alastair Massey and Tony Wright as administrators.

They’ve been leading an effort to sell the company, previously encouraging anyone interested in acquiring it to contact them. This has reportedly led to plenty of interest, with some rumours suggesting that Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group could be one of the interested parties.

The group already owns a cycling retailer, Evans Cycles, among other notable brands, including Sports Direct and House of Fraser.

• Read more: Frasers Group interested in buying Wiggle CRC, according to report

During this period of uncertainty, Wiggle CRC has continued to operate as normal and the administrators have reassured customers that the business remains fully operational and is continuing to fulfil orders.

Despite this, over 100 of its staff members have been made redundant, accounting for nearly a fifth of the workforce.

In a previous statement to GCN, the administrators said: "Regrettably, the financial position of the business means that it has been necessary to make a number of redundancies to allow the business to continue to trade in readiness of the proposed sales process.

"In total 105 people have been made redundant, with the remaining c.500 staff retained to support the operation of the business.

"This decision was not taken lightly, and we will provide all affected employees with support in making claims to the Redundancy Payments Service."

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