Wiggle CRC sales process officially begins

Administrators in control of Wiggle CRC have confirmed the sales process of the business has formally been launched, opening up the company to formal offers from interested buyers. 

The business, headquartered in Portsmouth UK, has faced a troublesome period after its Europe-based parent company, Signa Sports United (SSU), lost €150 million in committed funding from its major shareholder, Signa Holding, in a move which came just days after SSU announced a restructure amid 'profitability challenges'.

That forced the Wiggle CRC business into administration, as well as many other subsidiaries of SSU such as Internetstores. In the case of Wiggle CRC, administrators Alastair Massey and Tony Wright of specialist business advisory firm FRP were appointed on October 24. 

“We’ve officially launched our sales process for WiggleCRC," Massey announced in a statement on Thursday, November 9.

"This is one of the market’s best-known stable of brands and has solid fundamentals and further growth potential. In the few weeks we’ve been in office, we’ve seen strong trading continue thanks to a loyal and extensive customer base."

As part of the administration proceedings, Wiggle CRC cancelled orders with a number of its suppliers and stopped paying invoices, but customers were reassured that it was business as usual. 

That latter point has today been reiterated, with FRP stating that the business and its brands "remain fully operational" with online orders continuing to be delivered as usual, as well as returns. 

The statement also confirms that "all warranties remain in place." 

Customers can be doubly reassured about that after Halfords offered to honour warranties for affected customers, but if the optimism in Massey's statement is well founded, Wiggle customers shouldn't be too worried about the future of the company. 

"There has been considerable interest already in the business and we expect the sale process to gather pace rapidly," he continued. 

"Any remaining potential buyers should come forward now and express their interest.”

At this point, no buyer has publicly confirmed its interest. The most well-circulated rumour links former Newcastle United football club owner Mike Ashley, whose Fraser Group business is reportedly looking to table an offer. The group already owns Evans Cycles and ProBikeKit and has already acquired another of SSU's subsidiaries, SportScheck.