German bike manufacturer Möve Bikes filed for insolvency on Feb. 5. Attorney Marcello Di Stefano of the Erfurt-based law firm Diligens Rechtsanwälte & Insolvenzverwalter was appointed as provisional insolvency administrator. Business operations are currently continuing, and employees’ salaries have been secured through the advance financing of insolvency benefits. According to the law firm, the search for investors is in full swing. In addition, a continuation agreement has been reached with the main supplier (which, however, has not been specified), which ensures that the existing orders of the customers will be processed promptly and also that the advance payments made by the customers will not be lost, but credited, according to the lawyer.
According to Möve founder and CEO Tobias Spröte, the financial problems were caused by “the bank debts that have accumulated in recent years due to the high costs of market entry and rebranding of the traditional brand.” They could not be repaid in the normal course of business, he said. Möve is a venerable German brand name that today – since its resurrection under the aegis of Spröte, who acquired the brand rights in 2011 – has attracted attention with a distinctive drivetrain called Cyfly (developed by the Möve Bikes team).
Currently, the preliminary insolvency administrator is working intensively on a sustainable restructuring solution for Möve. Di Stefano is optimistic about finding a suitable investor, “because the very high-quality bicycles of Möve Bikes have good international market opportunities and the patent-protected Cyfly drivetrain, as well as the traditional Möve name and the highly qualified employees, may be of great interest to an investor“.
