New Zealand Brand UBCO Calls in the Receivers
Despite a contract to supply bikes to Australia Post, the utilitarian electric bike maker UBCO looks to be in trouble
A relative unknown in the UK, UBCO was born thanks to two men in a shed who wanted to build a lightweight and rugged, on and off-road bike that could handle New Zealand’s tough terrain. The result was a two-wheel drive machine, which was well-liked by journalists and owners for its rugged dependability. The brand was officially launched in 2015, although just less than ten years on from there, it seems to be in financial trouble.
The news comes just a short time after a deal was struck to supply Australia Post which saw specially adapted bikes built to allow posties to deliver mail around towns and in remote areas. Indeed, the deal with the post office wasn’t the only potential iron in the fire for UBCO, with certain models already developed for land management and agricultural applications.
That promise doesn’t seem to have come to fruition, though, as the receivers have been called in. The receivers, Grant Thornton’s Stephen Keen and David Ruscoe, have terminated all employees’ contracts and ceased trading due to the lack of available funding, according to Autocar.NZ. It goes on to say that a former managing director of the company lays part of the blame for the financial trouble on not going after lucrative military contracts.
While the receivers being called in is certainly not a good sign for the brand, it’s not totally over for the company yet. Receivership is not the same as liquidation or bankruptcy and the receivers could, if one can be found, source a buyer or buyers for the company. They could also seek to realise and secure assets and manage financial affairs to help pay debts to their creditors.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
