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'A positive year' UK cycling retailer Sigma Sports returns to profit after three years in the red
UK cycling retailer Sigma Sports has returned to profit following three years of losses amounting to 8m. The London-based business posted a pre-tax profit of 171,268 in its latest accounts, which were published on Companies House last week and cover the year to 31 December 2025. The results follow three years in the red, with pre-tax losses of over 1m in 2024, 3m in 2023 and 4m in 2022. On publishing the deep losses of 2022, Sigma Sports chief financial officer Oliver Lawson cited the cost-of-living crisis, rising interest rates, and the global economic impact of Russias invasion of Ukraine, all of which contributed to a decline in consumer confidence. The companys latest accounts point to a recovery in the industry, which lulled after the boom in popularity during the Covid pandemic. 2025 was a positive year for Sigma Sports, with the business maintaining its position as the leading premium retailer in the sector, Lawson wrote in the accounts published last week. Growth was driven by both online and physical retail channels, reinforcing the importance of an omnichannel approach.Sigma Sports, whose original store was founded in Hampton Wick, London, in 1992, expanded its high street presence in 2025 by opening its third store, this time in Letchworth Garden City, just north of the capital. The opening exceeded expectations, Lawson wrote, generating revenues of 2m from April to December, and encouraging the directors to open a fourth store in Wilmslow, in the north west of England, earlier this year. The company also grew its head count in 2025, up from 106 full-time employees to 128. Sigma Sports most profitable years came during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, when demand for sports equipment ballooned. Across the two years, the company posted pre-tax profits of more than 14m, but experienced difficulty in the subsequent years, like many retailers in the UK, as the cost-of-living crisis deepened. In late 2023, one of Sigma Sports main competitors in the UK market, Wiggle Chain Reaction Cycles, entered administration. Sigma Sports went on to experience an acceleration of performance following Wiggle's demise, and gained market share, Lawson notes in the 2024 accounts. The businesss latest results give no indication of performance in 2026. Sigma Sports relies on the UK market for 97% of its trade. Cycling Weekly has heard from other sources in the industry that this year has generally been a positive one for retailers. Data from the Bicycle Association has shown month-on-month growth through the year, and August was one of the highest grossing months, said Mike Rice of Balfes Bikes. I think the cycle industry is returning to a growth mode and its in a healthier position than it has been for years in the post-Covid era.
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