2012 Buyout Track 100
Rank: 34 Wiggle
Main shareholders: Bridgepoint (>50%), management (<50%)
Founded in 1999 in the back of a bike shop in Portsmouth, Wiggle originally sold only cycling gear online, but it has since expanded its range to include running, swimming and triathlon equipment, shipped to 88 countries. The company is led by chief executive Humphrey Cobbold with former Asda chief executive Andy Bond as chairman. Profits leapt 53% a year, from £4.5m in 2009 to £10.5m in 2011, boosted by the boom in both cycling and online retail. In December 2011 Isis Private Equity, which invested £12m in the company in 2006, sold the company to Bridgepoint in a deal that valued Wiggle at £180m.
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Founded in 1999 in the back of a bike shop in Portsmouth, Wiggle originally sold only cycling gear online, but it has since expanded its range to include running, swimming and triathlon equipment, shipped to 88 countries. The company is led by chief executive Humphrey Cobbold with former Asda chief executive Andy Bond as chairman. Profits leapt 53% a year, from £4.5m in 2009 to £10.5m in 2011, boosted by the boom in both cycling and online retail. In December 2011 Isis Private Equity, which invested £12m in the company in 2006, sold the company to Bridgepoint in a deal that valued Wiggle at £180m.
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Company facts
Wiggle
Online sports goods retailer
Company website
| Profit growth | 52.78% pa |
| 2011 profit | £10.5m |
| 2009 profit | £4.5m |
| 2011 sales | £86.8m |
| 2011 staff | 131 |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Location of HQ | Portsmouth |
| * annualised figure | |
