Dutch firm in talks to buy Raleigh

Classic bike brand Raleigh, which has been designing and making cycles for 125 years, is in talks to be taken over by a Dutch rival, it emerged today.

The firm, which was founded in Nottingham and is perhaps most famous for its Raleigh Chopper, is in discussions with Accell, the maker of Batavus and Sparta bikes.

Raleigh began life when Sir Frank Bowden bought an interest in a small bike company in the city’s Raleigh Street in 1887.

Raleigh, which sold 850,000 bikes worldwide last year and whose brands include Avenir and Diamondback, still designs bikes in Nottingham, England, where it employs more than 100 staff, but they are made in the Far East.

It has grown to become a company with sales of US$260m (€194.9m) a year and 430 employees. Its bikes have also been ridden by Tour de France winners.