Alpkit has entered administration after three difficult years, and is in talks with a new owner and investment partner in an attempt to secure the bicycle and outdoors brand’s future.
In a letter sent to shareholders via the investment platform Crowdcube, Alpkit CEO and co-founder David Hanney writes: “It is an extremely sad day for everyone at Alpkit, and for us co-founders in particular. Today, we are confirming that the Board has accepted that we must place Alpkit into administration.”
“We’ve faced incredible challenges over the last three years,” Hanney adds. These include cost inflation, a challenging market and “new trade barriers coupled with the rising weight of interest rates and recovery loan repayments”.
Hanney’s letter, forwarded to BikeRadar by a shareholder, explains that Alpkit is in “talks with a new owner and investment partner”, with the company set to share news of the deal soon.
“Everything is in place to complete the deal. We expect that all jobs will be saved, our stores will remain open, and all customer orders will be fulfilled,” Hanney writes.
Alpkit, which also produces Sonder bicycles, grew its number of shareholders through crowdfunding campaigns via the Crowdcube investment site. In 2020, the company raised £1.5m from 1,350 customers. It then raised over £2.3m in 2022.
Hanney says the value of the shares is now lost, but that the company is “doing something rare”. “Every shareholder who joined us through either of our crowdfunding campaigns will be given shares in the new company,” he explains.
Alpkit incurred a net loss of £1,457,902 in the year ended 31 October 2024, following a loss of £1,118,397 in the year prior, according to its accounts filed in November 2025.
According to Hanney’s letter, Alpkit wrote to shareholders to explain its financial challenges in October. It then engaged an advisory firm, which helped the Nottingham-based company decide on its next steps after it had considered all options, including a third round of fundraising and breaking up the business.
“We weighed up the pro’s and con’s to all these options and believe this financial restructuring through a pre-pack gives the best outcome overall balancing all our Stakeholders,” the letter says.
Alpkit says it will take several steps to focus on its products and service, and reach “good profitability”. These include resourcing production from high-wage and tariff to lower-cost and tariff territories. It will add new products after it acquired the intellectual property of Scottish outdoor and travel bag manufacturer Trakke in April 2025. It will also “keep a relentless focus on our cost base”.
“This does not mean we are going cheap, downmarket or anticipate a drop in our product standards – we remain totally committed to technical performance, social justice and environmental responsibility – it will let us compete better on performance and price in a challenging market environment. And gives us the profit margin so we can make money on the products we sell,” the letter says.
According to the letter, all staff will transfer to the new company.
The letter also says Alpkit remains committed to the Alpkit Foundation, which receives 1 per cent of the company’s sales and provides grants to individuals, small community groups, schools and organisations to encourage participation in the outdoors.
