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Own a part of Vulpine - clothing firm seeks crowdfunded investment (+ video)

Funds will pay for international expansion plus growing HOY Vulpine range

Vulpine, the cycle clothing firm founded in 2012, is seeking £500,000 investment to finance the next stage of its development – and owner Nick Hussey is turning to crowdfunding to raise the money and give customers and the broader public a chance to share in its success.

Since Hussey established the business in southwest London three years ago, Vulpine’s sales have doubled annually and it now sells almost 90 different products across three separate ranges, one of them a collaboration with six-time Olympic gold medallist, Sir Chris Hoy.

Money raised through Crowdcube, where the campaign goes live on Monday 19 October – the company’s customers have been invited to invest from today – will help expand the HOY Vulpine range, which has already achieved revenue of £350,000 since its launch eight months ago.

Hoy said: “Vulpine is a brand that shares the same values as me, focused on quality and with an inherent attention to detail, they were exactly what we were looking for and that’s why the partnership works so well.”

The investment being sought will also help finance international expansion in the United States and Asia with Hussey, who chose not to seek private equity funding, targeting the Japanese and South Korean markets in particular.

Ultimately, his goal is to develop Vulpine into “an international lifestyle brand, bringing stylish casual apparel to enthusiasts and casual cyclists alike.”

Hussey said:“I am so excited to offer everyone the opportunity to become part of #VulpineStory. I am looking forward to even more fun, with brand advocates who actually own part of Vulpine! What better to help grow your business?

“Cycling is growing as a lifestyle choice for so many people and we’re determined to show them just how good stylish cycle clothing can be,” he added. “We’re committed to build on our success, we believe in Vulpine, and we love hearing that so many other people do too.”

The company has produced the following video to tie in with its fundraising drive, and you can find more details on Vulpine’s Crowdcube campaign here: www.crowdcube.com/Vulpine

Vulpine's Story - CrowdCube #vulpinestory from Vulpine on Vimeo.

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.

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7 comments

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Danger Dicko | 8 years ago
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You can invest from as little as £10. It's only when you go with £50 or greater that you start to see any benefits. If you have £50,000 knocking about you can basically become a board member!

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Awavey replied to Danger Dicko | 8 years ago
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Danger Dicko wrote:

You can invest from as little as £10. It's only when you go with £50 or greater that you start to see any benefits. If you have £50,000 knocking about you can basically become a board member!

if I had 50k knocking around I think Id be tempted to try and start my own cycling clothing company instead, and its more like £500 before you see any real benefits. good luck to them but its not for me

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Gkam84 replied to Danger Dicko | 8 years ago
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Danger Dicko wrote:

You can invest from as little as £10. It's only when you go with £50 or greater that you start to see any benefits. If you have £50,000 knocking about you can basically become a board member!

£50k and you could basically become a board member?

 

How does that work, when only 9.09% of shares are being released for £500k?

So you would get less than 1% if my math is right?

Avatar
Colin Peyresourde | 8 years ago
2 likes

Just to make it abundantly clear, the reason stated is that he wants to give the public a chance to enjoy in the success.

I'm guessing he might be able to get corporate funding. You're either in or your out.

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hampstead_bandit | 8 years ago
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unless I am mistaken, since HOY Vulpine is sold excusively at Evans cycles (and through the Vulpine website) with it selling out very quickly

surely Evans could stump up some investment?

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James Warrener | 8 years ago
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I have had a look through all the warnings and risks and stuff and am no sure I can even stump up a tenner. 

I certainly can't afford any of their gear. 

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Airzound | 8 years ago
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Isn't Hoy into motor racing now? Surely he could stump all the cash?

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