VanMoof: E-bike firm goes bust after Covid boom

VanMoof, the Dutch high-end electrical bike-maker, has gone bust aft the brothers who founded it were incapable to prevention the firm.

VanMoof, which claims to person 190,000 customers worldwide, was declared bankrupt by the Amsterdam District Court connected Tuesday.

The steadfast saw request for its bikes turn during the pandemic and raised millions of dollars to money expansion.

But its stores person present been closed and online orders person stopped.

Administrators are looking astatine whether VanMoof tin beryllium saved by selling its assets oregon restructuring its debts.

VanMoof was founded successful 2009 by Dutch brothers Taco and Ties Carlier who wanted to marque "the cleanable metropolis bike".

The bikes, which commencement astatine astir £2,000, are known for their modern, sleek plan with a artillery built into the frame.

During the pandemic, motorcycle income successful wide soared and VanMoof arsenic a marque took off.

The steadfast raised $128m (£98m) from investors to expand, astatine the clip describing itself "most funded e-bike institution successful the world".

However, according to reports determination were problems with the firm's newer models and it was struggling to enarthrosis the costs of repairs.

There were besides reports of agelong transportation times for bikes and a shortage of parts.

In an email to staff, published by The Verge, Taco and Ties Carlier said: "Over the past weeks Ties and I person tried to find a aboriginal for VanMoof.

"We're highly atrocious to person to study that contempt our champion efforts we did not win and we person had to record for bankruptcy."

VanMoof, which has astir 700 employees, chiefly sells its bikes online but besides has shops successful 20 cities worldwide, and work hubs successful 50 cities.

A spokesperson for VanMoof told the BBC: "The trustees are continuing to measure the concern astatine VanMoof and are investigating the possibilities of a re-start retired of bankruptcy by means of an plus merchantability to a 3rd party, truthful that the activities of VanMoof tin beryllium continued."

The bankruptcy presently lone affects the firm's Dutch business, not its planetary subsidiaries. VanMoof said it was unsure what would hap stores extracurricular of the Netherlands but that its "intention is to support these entities moving arsenic usual".

Its London and Paris shops are shut, according to its website. It besides said:

It told customers that their e-bikes volition not halt working, adding that the steadfast aimed to support its app and servers online and unafraid "ongoing services for the future".

It advised owners to download their e-bike's unsocial integer key, successful lawsuit online servers spell down.