BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Mango’s Barry Dunn has told Vulpine’s 500+ shareholders that they may be able to claim back some losses from Vulpine’s collapse into administration on May 5th.. Mango acquired Vulpine’s assets 20 days later. Dunn is now the CEO of both Mango Bikes and Vulpine.
"We are in no doubt that the administrators chose Mango Bikes Limited as we offered the best deal for creditors and have visions for taking the business forwards, whilst keeping it relatively unchanged for the customer," Dunn told shareholders in an email late last night.
"We also have a significant advantage regarding economies of scale, allowing us to operate at reduced costs, which were previously unattainable by Vulpine."
He added: "Cashflow issues can hit any business, no matter how fast they grow and we are glad to be able to help a brand we have looked up to, though we understand that this does not help you as an investor."
Dunn suggested that investors – many of them "micro" ones, invited to invest via "crowdfunding" through Crowdcube by Vulpine’s enthusiastic founder Nick Hussey – could claim loss and tax reliefs on their investments. "You may be able to recover a significant proportion of your investment," suggested Dunn, perhaps rather optimistically.
