In the latest worrying development for the UK’s cycling industry, British cyclewear manufacturer Endura – which in recent years had appeared to be weathering the storms devastating the cycling market more ably than most – has posted a huge £14m loss, the brand’s first time in the red since 2019.

Earlier this week, the Livingston-based company posted its annual accounts, first reported by Cycling Weekly, detailing a pre-tax loss of £14,119,000 during the 13 months leading up to February 2024.

The latest accounts mark a dramatic fall from Endura’s position the previous year, when they recorded a profit of £759,000 at the end of 2022, and way down on the £2.5m profits posted during the Covid-19 pandemic. Overall, the company’s loss for the most recent financial period after tax was £13.84m, again down from a profit of £547,000 the year before.

That £14m loss was attributed by Andrew Long, the company director of the cycling clothing, helmets, and accessories brand, to a “large reduction in sales” – which dropped from £40.8m the previous year to £28.5m in 2023, while gross profit fell from £18.8m to just £3.7m – filtering into a “significant loss in the year”.

Some of the company’s losses also came, Long says, from “impairment” of inventory, with the value of its stock drawn down in value by £2.8m.

> “Survive until 2025… if we can get to the end of this year, we’ll be okay”: British bike manufacturers hoping to make it through industry woes

“The movement in the period is due to a reduction in sales, primarily in the United Kingdom region, which reflected challenging market conditions found throughout the cycling industry after unforeseen growth during the Covid pandemic,” Endura’s company director said in the accounts.

“The challenging market is even more evident in the turnover figures given we have an extended year end this year. This large reduction in sales has filtered down to a significant loss in the year.”

Long also noted that the loss has impacted the company’s net assets, which are now £2.845m, compared to £16.685m at the end of 2022.

“Cycle related products remain the focus for Endura,” Long said, “And we believe in the underlying benefits of cycling for transport, sport, and recreation, and have confidence that the merits of cycling will ensure that the global market for such products will remain robust long into the future.”

Endura Project Heid
Endura Project Heid (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)

> Endura designs “world’s most graphic cycle helmets” featuring CAT scans of cyclists’ brain injuries to encourage helmet wearing

While Endura’s losses represent a steep decline for the brand after a strong start to the 2020s, parent company Pentland Group, the majority shareholder of JD Sports and owner of Speedo and Berghaus, confirmed in the accounts that it will “provide the support, as appropriate” to the cyclewear manufacturer, financial backing which is deemed “vital to the long-term success of the company”.

Pentland Group, meanwhile, recorded a post-tax profit over the same period of £339.8m.

“We know that during the pandemic, many people bought their cycling kit and it’s taken a while for the wider market to catch up,” Endura’s senior vice president Noah Bernard said in a statement this week, which reiterated that the Scottish company remain “positive” for the future.

“Pentland Brands operates a portfolio of brands in a number of categories, and is committed to Endura and the exciting growth plans we have in key markets around the world like the US, UK and Germany.

“We’re also doubling down on mountain biking and gravel – which lie at the heart of the dirt lifestyle we are notorious for.”

> Huge discounts spotted as bike and cycling clothing prices slashed in summer clearance sales at Wiggle, Trek, Rapha, Evans Cycles and more

Of course, Endura isn’t the only UK-based cycling company experiencing a turbulent time of late. We recently revealed that fellow clothing manufacturer Rapha’s losses had doubled to £22.7m, the brand’s seventh consecutive year in the red – while Evans Cycles also posted a £22.8m loss for the financial year ending April 2023, significantly worse than the £5.3m figure of the year before.

In more positive news, however, this week British bike brand Orro was saved from collapse following its acquisition by capital and investment company Baaj Capital LLP, a month after I-ride, the major UK cycling distributor behind Orro, had entered administration after an investor pulled out of a deal at the last minute.

Earlier this year, the Confederation of the European Bicycle Industry (CONEBI) told the bike industry to “survive until 2025”, with their cycling market report forecasting that overstock issues “might be resolved” next year, while the market intelligence agency Mintel has also suggested that the industry is “on the road to recovery”.