This is evident from quarterly reports from Teslin, which the Financieele Dagblad (FD) writes about. Last April, a write-down of more than 45 million was placed in the books, “bringing the return of Teslin Participaties to -7.7 percent as of April 5,” says the asset manager, who speaks of a ‘major setback.’
A similar setback of around 28 million euros was also reported in the third quarter of last year.
Construction error Babboe
Teslin said he was surprised by the defects in the Babboe cargo bikes, which had to be recalled by order of the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA).
Due to a construction error, the frames of the bicycles regularly break in half, RTL Nieuws revealed at the beginning of February. A costly operation has now been launched to correct the errors.
“This situation comes at a very unfortunate time for Accell, just when the company seemed to be getting back on its feet,” says Teslin.
Since the company behind Sparta and Batavus, among others, was delisted from the stock exchange in 2022, partly by the asset manager, it has struggled with lower demand for bicycles and a growing stock. And that, apart from the problems at Babboe, already put pressure on the finances. Accell announced, among other things, that it would cut jobs.
‘Third bicycles recalled’
About a third of the cargo bikes are being recalled and it is expected that the majority will be able to go back on the road after inspection, the asset manager says. It is a complicated operation that costs a lot of time and money.
Accell’s other shareholder, the American KKR, which has a majority stake, does not want to say to the FD whether it has had to make similar write-downs. Teslin says that it has confidence in Accell and the future of the bicycle industry, which according to the asset manager is picking up again.
Tags: Investor owner Babboe bicycles write tens millions RTL News
