Husband and wife team to relaunch 120-year-old Leigh bike shop

A married couple in Leigh are using a five-figure loan to rescue and re-launch one of the town’s oldest shops.

Andrew and Zoe Kerboas will open bike store Ratcliffe Sports in the same premises as the original Ratcliffe’s of Leigh with the help of a £40k loan from GC Business Finance.

The previous cycle store started trading in 1896, but when owner Tony Ratcliffe retired in 2016 he was unable to find a buyer for the business.

Andrew and Zoe will now take up the reins and bring the company into a third century of business.

They will use the loan to buy fixtures, fittings and stock, rebuilding and rebranding the store for their cycle and sports retail company.

Ratcliffe Sports will sell bicycles and specialist sportswear and equipment. It will also offer aftersales such as servicing and repairs.

Andrew and Zoe’s future plans for the business include developing a programme of coaching and sports activities, creating an e-commerce platform and signing up as a Cycle to Work scheme supplier.

Andrew said: “Being able to get the funding we needed to buy this shop means an enormous amount to this community, not just because of the huge loyalty to Tony but because there is a real need for a sports and cycle business in Leigh that people can come to for the advice, support and equipment they need to stay active and healthy.

“When we heard about the shop having to close down, we began to think about how we might be able to step in, take a different direction ourselves and create a new family business.”

He added: “We’re enormously proud to be able to build on the three generations of shop owners that made the original store such a great resource for local people for so many years.”

GC Business Finance’s head of lending, Roger Seddon, commented: “Andrew and Zoe are following in the footsteps of legendary entrepreneur Victor Kiam – they loved it so much they bought the company!

“It’s great to see that businesses like this, that really do serve the community, aren’t simply allowed to vanish from our high streets.”

He continued: “Ratcliffe Sports has invested their Start Up Loan loan in expanding and diversifying a traditional business to ensure it is able to enter a new phase of prosperity in the store’s third century of trading.”

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