Vanmoof came close to collapse, accounts show

Consumer direct eBike specialists Vanmoof came close to collapse, a report by Dutch newspaper Financieele Dagblad has revealed.

Taking a look at the firm’s provisional accounts leading to the end of 2022 it was revealed that a further cash raise was urgently sought from investors in order to guarantee the firm’s survival as the bike industry’s supply chain whipsaw caught the brand off guard. The report concludes that Q1 of this year would have seen the firm enter financial difficulty quickly without backup from investors.

Seen as a household name in some parts of Europe, the brand ticked plenty of the boxes highlighted by investors as being attractive, sitting at a junction of health, technology, micromobility and more. Add to that the direct to consumer channel theoretically offering wider margins and the brand has successively managed to find backers to take it to the next level.

As many bike brands are currently grappling with, investor’s timing has arguably been off and possibly based on the assumption that trends more prominent during Covid would continue indefinitely. With a bottleneck now evident in supply of bikes Vanmoof reportedly joined the likes of the Giant Group in asking suppliers for postponement of payments until it could resolve cash flow issues.

It is reported that a figure of between €10 million and €40 million is mentioned in the financial reporting as to be paid to suppliers. Also revealed in the filings are eyebrow raising figures attributed to warranty and repair costs; €8 million was apparently set aside in the 2021 financial report, which put the firm’s losses at €78 million on a €83 million turnover.

The Dutch newspaper reports that it is only the company’s existing main investors that have lent further backing to the business. These include London investment firm firm Balderton.

Vanmoof has since received the backing it requires, though the figure has not been disclosed.