Industrial Growth
In order to continue expanding, Raleigh had to buy out rivals. The first company to be taken over was Humber in 1932. They originally made bicycles in Beeston, Nottingham before moving to Coventry. Their high-quality bicycles were a natural addition to the Raleigh stable and the name continued to be used by the company as a separate brand.
Triumph, founded in 1885, were taken over in 1934, whilst the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA), which had first begun bicycle making in 1880 and had itself taken over New Hudson and Sunbeam Cycles, passed to Raleigh in 1957. Rudge Whitworth was incorporated in 1943, having produced bicycles since their boneshaker in 1869.
Production continued to increase after the end of the Second World War, so much so, that by 1951 over one million bicycles were made each year. To cope with this demand a new factory was built (costing £1,250,000), and was opened by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1952. Raleigh's premises now occupied over 40 acres. The construction of this new building had necessitated the construction of an elaborate bridge over the road and railway to link the old and new, in order to carry the complex overhead conveyor system.
Raleigh and their chief rival, the British Cycle Corporation (BCC) (the bicycle division of Tube Investments (TI)) were hit by a fall in popularity of the industry. In 1960 the two companies merged: TI bought all the shares in Raleigh and, having done so, handed over the BCC to Raleigh management. Raleigh became known as TI Raleigh.
In 1960, Carlton, a hand-built racing cycle produced in Worksop, Nottinghamshire was taken over, initially under the direction of former world champion Reg Harris. In 1960 approximately 2,500 cycles were produced. The factory was closed in 1981 after a period of falling sales and decreased production.
This annotated photograph clearly shows the extent of the Raleigh factory in the 1970s, stretching from the head offices on Lenton Boulevard all the way to the site of what is now The University of Nottingham's Jubilee Campus. Factory No. 3 was opened in 1957 but was never actually used, as by its completion Raleigh were suffering a decline in fortunes and the additional space was no longer required. The factory was demolished in 1996 and the site sold to the University in 1997.
