Orange Bikes appears to have been saved from closure after an announcement revealed the company is set to continue under the ownership of Ash Ball.
The British mountain bike manufacturer appointed administrators at the end of last year, who later described the company as “unable to continue trading”.
But Orange Bikes now looks set to continue trading after a restructuring process.
Streamlined operations
When it announced the appointment of administrators, following the folding of its factory race team, Orange Bikes cited rising costs and market trajectory as the reasons for the decision.
To continue under Ash Ball, Orange Bikes says it has restructured its business and its associated companies.
Orange Bikes has acquired its UK frame manufacturing partner. “With this acquisition, we will be able to streamline our operations and create a more efficient production process,” Orange Bikes said in its announcement.
The facility, two miles from Orange Bikes' current headquarters in Halifax, North Yorkshire, will be the new home for Orange Bikes, housing frame fabrication and bike assembly.
“From the delivery of the aluminium for which we are famed, at one end of the factory, to the shipment of complete bikes from the other, we will have a seamless and efficient workflow,” the brand says.
35 more years?
Orange Bikes was founded in 1988 and helped shape many people’s experience of mountain biking, including BikeRadar's senior technical editor, Alex Evans.
The brand says the restructuring “ensures a promising future for British bike manufacturing in West Yorkshire for at least another 35 years”.
It says the decision means Orange Bikes has been able to preserve jobs.
Orange Bikes' turbulent period is indicative of wider trends in the British cycling industry, with Wiggle entering administration in October last year.
However, a recent report from consumer research group Mintel suggests the industry may begin to recover in 2024.
