Piper invests £11.5m in Wattbike

The firm is currently investing from Piper Private Equity VI, which closed on £125m. This is the fund's eighth investment.

The fresh capital is intended to help the business grow in the UK, and expand in the US and Asia.

Piper first encountered the company's management team in 2016. Ian Wilson stepped down as chief executive in 2018, but remains a non executive director and shareholder. Gordon Baird, former chairman of sports footwear brand Inov-8 and swimwear brand Zoggs, will join the business as non-executive chairman.

Previous funding
In April 2011, 24Haymarket provided £3m in a round of growth capital funding for Wattbike.

Company
Wattbike was founded in Nottingham in 2007. It produces technology-enabled exercise bikes that measure the rider's performance. It initially began releasing its bikes in gyms, but now has a direct-to-consumer offering. It reported revenues of £16.9m in the year ending on 30 September 2019, up from £13.8m in the previous period, and is currently forecasting sales of more than £21m in 2020. It employs 64 staff.

People
Piper Private Equity – Dan Stern (investment director).
Wattbike – Dusan Adamovic (technical director).

Advisers
Equity – Pinsent Masons (legal); RSM (financial due diligence).
Company – Ashcombe (corporate finance); Houlihan Lokey (corporate finance); White & Case (legal).

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• Topics
• Expansion
• UK / Ireland
• Consumer
• Piper Private Equity
• RSM Global
• Pinsent Masons
• White & Case
• Houlihan Lokey