Future of British bike brand Orro secured by investment company promising to "continue its tradition of producing world-class bicycles"

British bike brand Orro has been saved from collapse, capital and investment company Baaj Capital LLP having just announced its acquisition.

Come on! The British bike industry could do with some good news right now so it’s a huge relief that one of the most interesting brands of the past few years will continue.

We reported last month that i-ride, the major UK cycling distributor behind Orro Bikes, had entered administration after an investor pulled out of a deal at the last minute. However, there was always hope that Orro would be bought and that has now happened, Orro's managing director sharing the details with road.cc this afternoon.

Has Baaj Capital LLP just stepped in to buy a name with kudos and squeeze some juice out of it? No, that really doesn’t appear to be the case.

Baaj Capital LLP says that it “aims to continue with the brand’s strong growth within the UK IBD [independent bike dealer] network and continue to offer a bespoke UK-built product”.

> “We are proud to design and build our bikes in Britain”: Orro on reshoring its assembly, innovation, and plans to go international 

It also says that it is “dedicated to preserving Orro Bikes’ rich heritage and continuing its tradition of producing world-class bicycles”, and will “invest in research and development to introduce cutting-edge technologies and innovative designs to the Orro Bikes product line.”

Jas Singh, CEO of Baaj Capital LLP, says that the company can offer opportunities for the growth of Orro Bikes while increasing its investment in manufacturing and particularly the UK bike industry.

Orro’s Paul Butler says, “We are delighted to be working with the Baaj Capital group to secure Orro’s future as a leading British bicycle manufacturer and are excited to continue the brand’s growth and development. We look forward to strengthening our partnerships with our IBD network.”

What’s interesting about Orro is that the bikes are designed and assembled In Britain. That’s the whole point. These aren’t just generic bikes picked out of a Far Eastern catalogue and embellished with the Orro name.

Orro has introduced many excellent bikes since it was launched in Sussex back in 2014. The Venturi aero bike, for example, has been a huge success over the past few years, designed around 28mm tyres before most other brands had cottoned on to the whole 28mm thing.

When Stu Kerton reviewed the Orro Venturi STC SRAM Force eTap Tailor Made here on road.cc in March, he said, “Real-world aerodynamics and well-designed geometry create an excellent bike that is fast and easy to ride”.

The Orro Gold STC Force D2 Etap AXS Tailormade road bike got a stonking nine out of 10 last year – and finished 4th overall in our Bikes of the Year, up against every bike of every genre that we reviewed in 2023 – and we’ve been impressed by the zillion (I’m rounding up) Orro Terra gravel bikes that we’ve reviewed. According to our reviewers, these guys definitely know what they’re doing.

More news as we get it.