Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

news

Bike Leasing Company turns to crowdsourcing for finance - invest for as little as £10

Incentives on offer for various levels of investment in company anticipating growth

We’ve flagged up Bike Leasing Company on road.cc before – the company that helps cyclists afford high-end bikes through monthly payments to enable you to ride your dream machine with no commitment to buy once the lease period is up. Now, with the company anticipating growth, there’s an opportunity to invest in its future and own part of the business.

Run by cyclists for cyclists, Bike Leasing Company  is pitching for investment through Crowdcube, a crowdsource funding platform that enables innovative companies to raise equity finance equivalent to a 20 per cent stake in the business, with the minimum level of investment standing at jut £10.

And as an extra incentive, if you invest just £10, you’ll be entered into a draw to win a free 12-month lease of a bike worth £5,000. There are also various other incentives on offer for different levels of investment:

Invest £250 and
Receive a free Bike Leasing Company T-shirt

Invest £500 and
Receive bike components or accessories up to a retail value of £200.

Invest £1,000 and
Recieve free bike components or accessories up to a retail value of £400.

Invest £2,500 and
Enjoy a premium bike on a free lease for 12 months up to a value of £1,500.

Invest £5,000 and
Enjoy a premium bike on a free lease for 12 months up to a value of £2,500.

Invest £10,000 and
Enjoy a free lease on a premium bike for 12 months up to a value of £6,000.

Full details of the pitch can be found on the Crowdcube website, where Bike Leasing Company has currently achieved 12 per cent of its £100,000 equity funding target.

 

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

Add new comment

7 comments

Avatar
bikeleasingcompany | 11 years ago
0 likes

Nearly at the £12k mark now.

We only need 4,404 of you to invest £20  26

Avatar
bikeleasingcompany | 11 years ago
0 likes

Hello,

I thought that it might be useful if I pasted this information from the Crwodcube website that explains how it works:

Investing on Crowdcube is designed to be straightforward, simply register as a member, find a pitch that you like and invest online and, if the pitch reaches its funding target, you’ll get your equity share. However, here’s a more detailed description of the end-to-end process so that you know exactly what to expect when investing on Crowdcube.

Register as a member

By becoming a member of Crowdcube you are a member of Crowdcube Ventures Limited ("Crowdcube") which is a Company Limited by Guarantee. As a Member you do not have voting rights and may be required to contribute a nominal amount of 1p in the unlikely event of the winding up of Crowdcube Ventures Limited.

Submit an Expression of Interest

When you initially make an ‘investment’ on the Crowdcube website you are actually submitting an Expression of Interest to the investee that you wish to invest in the business. At this stage it is not legally binding and you still have the right to withdraw your money at any time. You will be required to complete a GoCardless transaction. This doesn't take any money from your account until the pitch hits its funding target and you confirm that you are happy to confirm your expression of interest into shares.

Pitch hits its target

Expressions of Interest in a pitch accumulate to reach a pitches funding target.

New Articles of Association

When a pitch has reached it funding target we’ll work with the company and their solicitors to draw up and agreed the Articles of Association for the business. Articles of Association form the basis of a company's constitution and need to be amended following new investors in a company. The Articles of Association are typically based on our standard articles.

Confirming your investment

As an investor you’ll be sent an email, with the new Articles of Association attached, giving you three calendar days to withdraw your Expression of Interest. Once the three days have passed and you’ve confirmed that you wish to continue your Expression of Interest will be converted into a binding order for investment in the company.

Share certificates sent

Once all of the above steps have been completed you will be sent your share certificate in the company and we’ll transfer the money to the company you invested in. Remember that you will get direct ownership in that company, rather than via a third party.

Avatar
Gkam84 | 11 years ago
0 likes

Ah ha, so you get shares in the company for your money. That's quite a good idea now that its explained.

Avatar
turnerc99 | 11 years ago
0 likes

Nope - you're making an investment of £10k in the company. Hopefully the company will be hugely successful and your investment will go up in value, so that in a number of years your investment will get you back £10k + £xk.

As an incentive to get you to invest £10k, the company will lend you a £6k bike for a year free of charge. At the end of the year you either give the bike back, or you buy it. The two things are separate. Hope that helps.

Avatar
bikeleasingcompany replied to turnerc99 | 11 years ago
0 likes

Hello Turnerc99

Thanks for the perfect explanation.

I thought I would just post a reminder that people can invest from as little as £10 only.

Of course, more is always welcome:)

But anyone investing £10 or more will be entered into a draw to win a free lease of a £5k bike.

So that could be something like this:

http://www.i-ride.co.uk/EMX-525-Ultegra-Di2-Bike.aspx#/

or this

http://www.i-ride.co.uk/De-Rosa-Merak-Bike.aspx

or maybe even 2 bikes if you take part in onroad and offroad cycling:

http://www.i-ride.co.uk/EMX-3-Athena-Bike-2013.aspx
http://www.transitionbikes.com/2013/Bikes_Covert26_3.cfm

Avatar
Gkam84 | 11 years ago
0 likes

I just don't get it at all.

Invest £10,000 and you get to loan a £6,000 bike for a year?

So you are paying £4,000 to rent a £6,000 bike for a year??  19  19

Avatar
new-to-cycling | 11 years ago
0 likes

An interesting idea but I feel like most cyclists would prefer to own their machine

Latest Comments