BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Zyro has announced the acquisition of Fisher Outdoor Leisure, merging the two businesses together to create Zyro-Fisher; a new distributor of Parts, Accessories and Clothing to the UK and Irish cycling markets.
The formation of Zyro-Fisher has been achieved through a significant investment from mid-market private equity firm LDC and is the culmination of many months of planning and market analysis.
Operations have been proposed to be consolidated at Zyro’s purpose-built facility in Darlington. A unique brand focus will be delivered through separate Zyro and Fisher sales and brand management teams, the combined firm said.
Matthew Barker, a Director of Zyro for the past 4 years, is appointed as Zyro-Fisher CEO and will continue to be supported by James Browning, as Chairman of Zyro-Fisher, Simon and Julie Ellison, as Directors of Zyro-Fisher, and the wider Zyro and Fisher teams.
It’s not the first name change for Zyro, which used to be Ron Kitching Cycling, which had a history dating back to the 1940s. Fisher Outdoor Leisure was a family business founded in 1934 by Joe Fisher. The Fisher brothers – Gordon and Trevor – ran the firm when it was sold in an MBO in 2006.
Simon Ellison said: “We are very excited about the future of the combined business; it brings together a very powerful portfolio of brands, while the separate sales and brand management structure will ensure we continue to offer the best brand and customer focus in the industry.”
James Browning said: “Our industry is clearly entering a consolidation phase and I am delighted with the combination of these two strong and complementary companies to create a scale player able to offer future-proof service and solutions to its partners.”
Matthew Barker said: “In the rapidly developing cycling market, the combination of Zyro and Fisher will ensure we maximise the potential of our brand partners and provide exceptional support and service to our customers.”
John Garner, Head of LDC Yorkshire & North East, said: “This is an exciting development for the combined business, its brand partners and its customers, creating a company with a truly differentiated proposition in terms of scale, reach and value-added services. Together, the board and management team bring an unrivalled level of expertise, which will help to deliver a clear growth strategy in an evolving sector.”
