Insolvency at bicycle manufacturer: Bicycle group files for insolvency

Despite an ongoing cycling boom, three renowned bicycle companies from Bavaria have filed for insolvency due to difficulties with their Dutch parent company. The Schweinfurt District Court confirmed on Monday that, with a decision made on the previous Friday, proceedings in self-administration had been ordered for the German holding company of the Dutch Accel Group, as well as its subsidiaries Winora Staiger GmbH, Ghost Bikes GmbH, and Engelbert Wiener Bike-Parts GmbH. The Nuremberg lawyer Stefan Debus had been appointed as the preliminary trustee.

The companies with brands such as Haibike, Winora, and Ghost employ 370 employees at their locations in Sennfeld near Schweinfurt and Waldsassen (Upper Palatinate), and achieved a turnover of 340 million euros in 2025, according to Accell. The business operations are to be continued, and wages and salaries are initially secured through insolvency funds. The goal is to find an investor and to separate the German companies from the Dutch group's network.

Winora has a long tradition - the company was founded in 1914 by the cyclist Engelbert Wiener. Accell Germany is currently part of the Accell Group, based in the Netherlands and operating in many European countries, which is majority-owned by the US financial investor KKR.

The bicycle group is experiencing international difficulties, attributing this to a decline in the sales boom for bicycles, which reached its peak during the Corona pandemic and then exceeded it. The attempt at a structured sales process for the entire Accell Group failed at the end of the month.

As a result, the Accell Group has filed for insolvency in numerous countries worldwide, both within and outside the European Union, including the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Hungary. With the self-administration proceedings, the existing management has the opportunity to control the restructuring process in coordination with the creditors.

The German bicycle market is considered a solid foundation for restructuring, according to the office of the preliminary trustee. The brands are well-positioned in the market.