Over 100 job losses at Wiggle CRC after administrators take control
'Decision not taken lightly' say administrators as staff at Wiggle, Chain Reaction Cycles and Hotlines are affected
James Howell-Jones
Junior Writer
© GCN
Wiggle, Chain Reaction and Hotlines are affected by the redundancies
Wiggle Chain Reaction Cycles has made 105 of its staff members redundant after the company entered the control of administrators last week.
This is the latest development in the ongoing situation at WiggleCRC, which is now in the hands of FRP advisory following months of financial difficulty.
For the time being, WiggleCRC brands including Wiggle, Chain Reaction Cycles, and Hotlines are still trading, but the administrators are seeking buyers for the business.
Read more: Wiggle Chain Reaction Cycles goes into administration
The administration process has begun with a round of job cuts, with nearly a fifth of the workforce laid off at the start of this week.
The administrators issued a statement to GCN saying: "The Joint Administrators are proposing to launch a sale process for WiggleCRC and have already received interest from several parties.
"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."
Additionally, a spokesperson for the administrators have confirmed to GCN that the redundancies are split between the various companies within Wiggle Limited as follows:
- 70 employees from Wiggle
- 7 from Hotlines
- 28 from Chain Reaction
"Regarding locations, that equates to 55 in Portsmouth, 13 in Wolverhampton, 30 in Belfast and 7 in Edinburgh," they added.
In the days since WiggleCRC entered administration, the company has been put up for sale.
Frasers Group, owner of Evans Cycles and Sports Direct, is reportedly weighing an offer, but the administrators are still inviting others to enter the bidding.
In a Linkedin post on Tuesday, administrator Alastair Massey said that they are in discussion with "a number of interested parties," encouraging any other interested parties to "get in touch without delay".
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