Cycle Surgery owner applies for company voluntary arrangement

Outdoor & Cycle Concepts, owners of Cycle Surgery, Runners Need, Snow + Rock and Cotswold Outdoor has applied for a CVA, according to Bloomberg.

The report said the move is aimed at cutting rents across the owner’s 100-plus stores, with a vote on the CVA proposal scheduled for 13 May.

The move will come as a further blow to cycle retail and potentially heap further misery on cycle suppliers, following Evans Cycles’ tumultuous 2018, which eventually saw Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct move in, promising to retain half of Evans’ 60 stores but apparently leaving suppliers considerably out of pocket, at least temporarily, placing pressure on supplier cash flow.

Cycle Surgery has been whittling down its store portfolio since at least 2017. It currently has approximately 19 stores (nine in London). It started out in 1992 with a bicycle workshop in Islington.

Outdoor & Cycle Concepts is controlled by private equity firm PAI Partners.