The basics
Company name: Wiggle.co.uk
What they do: Top online bike retailer
Headquarters: Portsmouth
The boss: Humphrey Cobbold
The financials
Latest turnover (?,000): 86,787
Four-year compound sales growth (%): 53
Latest Ebitda (?,000): 10,535
The details
Wiggle.co.uk is the UK’s busiest retailer of bikes, cycling paraphernalia and a massive range of sporty kit. Sales are up from £24.2m to ?86.8m in four years, with Ebidta of £10.4m impressive in the cut-throat world of internet retailing.
So how have they done it” Size of stock is one thing. Wiggle has 500 brands and 38,000 product lines on offer for a growing range of sports.
An international focus is helping too. The website has been translated into nine languages and payment is accepted in 15 currencies. As a result, over half the world’s population can interact with Wiggle in their language and/or in their currency,” says Thomas Dibley, the marketing manager. Exports account for more than half of sales.
In December, Bridgepoint paid a rumoured £180m for the Portsmouth firm, providing a healthy return for Isis private equity which invested £12m in 2006.
The Hot 100 2012 is brought to you by Investec, Jordans, Cass Business School and Your Business Your Future.
