Vicious cycle: Bike chain in hunt for rescue buyer as retail woes loom
Cycle Evans is ramping up efforts to find a buyer amid mounting fears that the retailer could be the latest victim of this year’s high street bloodbath.
Potential bidders for the embattled bicycle chain have been asked by advisers to put forward any final takeover offers by the end of next week, according to Sky News.
With more than 60 stores across the UK, Evans Cycles, which is owned by the private equity firm ECI Partners, shares the challenges faced by retailers across the country of a consumer shift towards online shopping.
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Early last week it emerged that Cycle Evans has already held urgent talks with lenders for a capital injection, with sources telling Sky that the firm needed at least £10m before the end of the year.
A mix of retail firms, private equity funds and turnaround investors are rumoured to have been consulted about a possible takeover of Cycle Evans, which is being advised by Big Four accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).