Bikes and cycling accessories with a retail value of £35 million are going under the hammer after administrators were called in at Derby bike distributor Moore Large.
The business, which employed 103 people, collapsed this month, blaming factors including inflation, exchange rate fluctuations, dampened consumer demand and supply chain issues.
From a 215,000 sq ft building on the Sinfin Industrial Estate, it supplied UK shops with brands such as O’Neal, Lake, Tern, WeThePeople, Alpina, Kenda and Jagwire, alongside its house brands Forme bikes and Everything to Cycling. It was launched in the 1940s and remained a family business until it was sold in a multi-million pound management buyout last year.
As part of the winding down process Nottingham-based John Pye & Sons has been brought in to put the stock and assets up for sale – including around 35,000 bikes with a retail value of around £25 million. The auction house is selling a further £10 million worth of bike accessories.
Everything will be sold across John Pye’s auction sites at Nottingham, Chesterfield, Port Talbot and Derby with nationwide delivery available on all stock.
A spokesman for the auctioneers said: “Having built a solid reputation as an efficient sales avenue, administrators across the UK choose to partner with John Pye for its ability to adapt to specific job requirements and its flexibility of service, from stock collection to end-consumer sale within any range of discretion, means administrators can approach the John Pye team with a problem and they can guarantee a solution.
“Earlier this year it worked with PwC, administrators of MADE.COM Design Limited to handle the sale of the entirety of its UK stock holding, selling off a range of furniture and homewares, valued at over £30 million.”
Charles Loake, joint head of John Pye Business & Property, said: “We have the systems and knowledge in place to ensure we can sell the Moore Large & Co stock with the highest level of efficiency and return for its creditors.
“Our UK-wide footprint of close to 1,000,000 sq ft of sale space and a nationwide workforce of over 700 staff ensures we can handle the largest of insolvency cases.
“Since Covid, cycling as a hobby as increased exponentially, so this an opportunity for enthusiasts to potentially secure some big name bikes and accessories at a great price.”
