The founders of British custom bike specialist WyndyMilla, whose parent company Spoon Group entered liquidation late last year, have announced that they have acquired the business and its remaining assets, alongside sister brands Spoon Customs and Gun Control Custom Paint.

In a boost for the British cycling industry, Henry Furniss and Nasima Siddiqui, who sold their remaining shares in WyndyMilla when it became part of the Spoon Group over five years ago, announced on Instagram that, following negotiations with the company’s liquidators, they have secured all three brands to “bring ‘em back home”.

However, despite informing customers that a sale of the remaining Spoon Customs and WyndyMilla stock will take place, Furniss and Siddiqui admitted that there is “no grand plan as of yet” for the rescued company.

WyndyMilla Van Halen custom bike 2021
WyndyMilla Van Halen custom bike 2021 (Image Credit: WyndyMilla)

Established in 2009, WyndyMilla merged with fellow British custom bike specialist, Surrey-based bespoke steel bike brand Spoon Customs, under the Spoon Group umbrella at the start of 2020.

Spoon founder Andy Carr took over the new company as CEO during the reorganisation, which saw Spoon and WyndyMilla continue to operate as separate brands, while WyndyMilla’s in-house paint facility WM Paintworks was rebranded and repositioned as its own standalone business, Gun Control Custom Paint.

But despite the company’s reputation for designing and producing high-quality, eye-catching handmade carbon and steel bikes, the turmoil affecting the cycling industry since the Covid pandemic led to a number of cost-saving measures in recent years, including closing its premises in the Surrey Hills and adopting a more streamlined operational model.

In June 2023, Spoon Customs was forced to suspend its production of carbon bikes, including the award-winning Vars Disc, in a bid to manage the long wait times caused by what the company described as a “perfect storm of parts and supply chain issues”.

> Owner of custom bike specialists Spoon and WyndyMilla enters liquidation, after falling demand and rising costs put business in “impossible position”

And in response to the increasing pressures placed on the business by falling demand, rising costs, and cash flow problems, in December Spoon Group announced that it had instructed FRP Advisory Trading to place the company into liquidation.

“This is an incredibly sad day for everyone involved,” Spoon founder and director Andy Carr said in a statement at the time.

“Spoon and its brands have earned loyal support over the years, becoming known for championing better fit and the highest standards of fabrication and finishing.

“Despite concerted and sustained efforts to adapt to challenging market conditions, the business has found itself in an impossible position.

“In a market where demand has dropped significantly and costs have risen, the decision to enter liquidation was necessary to address these challenges, though it is wholly regrettable. We remain committed to supporting the liquidation process during this difficult time.”

Spoon Customsb
Spoon Customsb (Image Credit: Simon Eldon Photography)

However, after a few years of challenging headwinds and the nadir of liquidation, there now at last appears to be some hope for the British company, after WyndyMilla’s founders moved to secure Spoon from its liquidators, to ensure, as co-founder Henry Furniss put it on Instagram, “the legacy of a couple of lifetimes of work is not all lost”.

“The universe works in mysterious ways,” Furniss and Siddiqui said in a statement on social media.

“Sadly, like so many great companies recently, The Spoon Group including Spoon Customs, WyndyMilla, and its other iconic brands, despite having some of the most beautiful bikes this world has to offer, fell victim to the same plethora of headwinds that have seen many sectors of the cycling industry on their knees.

“The team fought hard, but ultimately took the impossible decision to close the business via liquidation in late 2024.”

> Spoon Customs suspends carbon bike production to manage backlog as cycle industry supply chain issues continue

They continued: “In the shadow of such great sadness, it’s fortunately not all doom and gloom, as after negotiations with the liquidators I am thrilled to announce that Nasima and I have been able to secure all three brands (WyndyMilla, Spoon Customs, and Gun Control Custom Paint), together with the remaining assets to bring ’em back home and keep them in the family – so the legacy of a couple of lifetimes of work is not all lost.

“There is no grand plan as of yet, but what I can say is that Nasima and I will be having a sale of the last labours of love from Spoon Customs that was, and of course from our baby WyndyMilla that’s come back home to us, so a rare chance to own a bit of history.

“We’re so very happy to be back.”