Nottingham: Job losses confirmed at bike manufacturer Raleigh

The company has been at its current headquarters in Eastwood since the early 2000s

Iconic bike manufacturer Raleigh has confirmed redundancies have been made at its headquarters in Nottinghamshire ahead of its closure and relocation.

The brand's parent company, Accell, confirmed job losses at the head office Eastwood site following a review.

The Netherlands-based firm said the parts and accessories business would close, and warehousing would be outsourced.

Its headquarters would remain "in the Nottingham area", it added.

A spokesperson for Accell said the decision had been "very difficult" and the company was expected to vacate the site in Church Street in "due course".

The company refused to reveal the number of workers who have lost their jobs.

A statement said: '"Following the launch of a business review and employee consultation, our proposed changes to Accell's UK operations have been confirmed and will be implemented.

"These changes will better integrate Accell UK into the wider Group business and position our UK operations for sustainable growth while retaining our HQ in the Nottingham area.

"This has been a very difficult decision and we are supporting those impacted by the changes, while maintaining our service to our bike shop partners and customers."

The story of Raleigh

A podcast on the story of Raleigh is available on BBC Sounds.

The future of its exhibition hub in Nottingham city centre, which opened at the end of 2022, remains unknown.

Founded in 1887, Raleigh was at one time the biggest bicycle maker in the world and in the 1940s employed about 8,000 people in the city.

It stopped making bikes in Nottingham more than two decades ago.

The headquarters relocated from Triumph Road in Lenton to Eastwood in the early 2000s, but Accell had already sought planning permission for more than 100 homes on the site.