The company that owns the famously iconic Nottingham bike maker Raleigh has officially thrown in the towel, filing for insolvency proceedings. Accell, the Dutch conglomerate that snapped up Raleigh for a cool $100m back in 2012, announced on Wednesday that it had 'exhausted all the available options' and was 'no longer able to meet its financial obligations.' Because nothing says 'we tried everything' like a press release admitting defeat.

This comes after a particularly wobbly period for Raleigh, which saw redundancies in 2024 and racked up losses of £30m in accounts released the following year. Jonas Nilsson, Accell's chief executive, described the situation as 'a deeply sad and frustrating situation,' which is corporate-speak for 'we're really, really sorry and also broke.'

Raleigh, founded in Nottingham in 1887, was once the biggest bicycle maker in the world, employing about 8,000 people at its peak. Those glory days are long gone - the company stopped making bikes in the city decades ago, and in 2024 it even moved out of its historic headquarters on Church Street in Eastwood to a new spot less than a mile away. Progress!

Accell, which also owns other European bike brands like Haibike, Winora, and Ghost, went through a restructuring in February, securing additional funding from shareholders and lenders and reducing debts. But apparently, it wasn't enough to keep the wheels on. Nilsson noted that the company had worked 'to restructure [its] operations and finances,' adding, 'Every realistic option for the future of the business has been tirelessly explored, and none have resulted in a solution to continue the group in its current form.'

Now, the focus is on 'supporting an orderly process' and working with court-appointed administrators to preserve viable activities and employment 'where circumstances allow.' So, if you're a Raleigh employee, maybe start polishing your CV - just in case.