Collapse of major UK cycling distributor “huge shock” after investor pulled out of Orro Bikes deal “at the very last minute” – but hope “someone in the industry” will rescue business
But while I-ride, or its parent company Martlet Group, have yet to comment publicly on the situation, another source from inside the business has told road.cc that the news came as a shock to both staff and management, and was the result of a failed investment exercise and last-minute withdrawal of funds on Friday afternoon, leading to the company’s descent into administration on Monday.
However, while the source said I-ride’s collapse hinged on that one decision last Friday and that Orro itself had been growing in recent years, they did admit that the long-term economic challenges faced by the cycling industry in recent years, exacerbated by Brexit and pandemic-era supply chain issues, had also affected I-ride and the Martlet Group.
However, the source did not address the accusation that staff had not been paid their wages for September, despite another insider informing road.cc that anger among the company’s former employees is mounting about how the situation unfolded. I-ride calls itself “the specialists’ specialist” and distributed products for SeaSucker, Kool-Stop, Gemini Lights, Green Oil, DeFeet, Cyclus Tools, Catlike, Seatylock, Token and more, in addition to the bigger name brands listed earlier in this article., the distributor for brands such as Tern Bicycles, Lake and Forme going under one year on from the long-running business being sold to board directors from the Moore family.
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