Sparta relaunched under Tenways
The Chinese-Dutch e-bike company is taking over the brand and ownership rights from bankrupt Accell.
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Bicycle brand Sparta has a new owner. The administrators of bankrupt Accell have sold the brand to Tenways, which is headquartered in Amsterdam and mainly sells electric city and trekking bikes.
According to the administrators, Tenways is taking over Sparta’s brand and ownership rights. The name will therefore survive after parent company Accell went bankrupt in August. No sale price or precise agreements on staff, production, service and warranties have been disclosed.
Tenways was founded in 2021 and now has its headquarters in Amsterdam. The company focuses on electric bicycles for urban use and longer distances. The takeover therefore fits the market in which Sparta operates, but says nothing yet about where future Sparta bicycles will be designed or produced.
Accell has been bankrupt since August. After the growth during the coronavirus pandemic, the group ran into financial difficulties, partly because of high inventories, weaker-than-expected demand and supply-chain disruptions. The administrators are selling parts of the business separately in order to preserve value for creditors and brands.
Batavus, Koga and Babboe were previously sold to the Singaporean group Dutech. Sparta was excluded from that transaction and uncertainty therefore continued for longer. According to reports, the administrators said that a separate sales process was followed for Sparta in order to achieve the best possible return.
The sale does not automatically change the statutory warranty for bicycle owners. In principle, that responsibility lies with the shop where the bicycle was bought. What still needs to be worked out is how Tenways will organise brand servicing, parts supply and any manufacturer warranties. The relaunch is therefore good news for the brand, but not yet a complete service plan for customers.
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The new owner and Sparta’s position within the Accell bankruptcy have been confirmed. Unknown elements of the relaunch have been identified as uncertain.
- confirmed Tenways is the new owner of Sparta. — NOS reports this on the basis of information from the administrators. source
- confirmed Tenways has its headquarters in Amsterdam. — NOS and Tenways describe the location of its headquarters. source
- confirmed Accell went bankrupt in August. — NOS names August as the month of the bankruptcy. source
- confirmed The statutory warranty rests with the seller. — This is the general consumer-law context, as also explained in trade media. source
Editor's note
The sale to Tenways was reported by NOS on the basis of information from the administrators. The purchase price, production plans and service terms are not known.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- NOS — „sparta tenways”
- Het Parool — „sparta tenways”
- de Volkskrant — „sparta tenways”