Fire devastates UK headquarters of Specialized Bicycle Components

The London headquarters of Specialized Bicycle Components, Inc. has been heavily damaged by a fire.

Reports emerged this weekend that the offices based in the southeast of the capital had been destroyed by the blaze.

“Thankfully, no one was hurt, but sadly the fire had a devastating effect [on] our offices,” a company spokesperson told BRAIN. “While there will be short-term changes to certain business operations in the UK, our warehouse is located elsewhere, and therefore, our operations for riders and retailers are not impacted. We are working closely with the authorities to understand more about what happened.”

The fire erupted in a retail park that also hosts Canyon Bicycles on Saturday night, with the London Fire Brigade stating that 12 fire engines and around 80 firefighters were required to quell the blaze.

“Fire crews arrived to find a well-developed fire and worked hard to bring it under control in what was a protracted incident, stated Neil Guyet, commander of the fire crew. “There was thick smoke issuing across the business park.”

The London Fire Brigade’s investigation unit and local police are probing into the as-yet-unknown cause of the fire, which caused no injuries. Canyon’s premises were not affected.

The incident makes for the second high-profile incident to affect the US retailer in recent months. Mid-December, thieves broke into the company’s Californian world headquarters to loot some $160,000 of both prototype and employee bicycles.