Closing summary
Time to recap…. here’s today’s main stories so far:
Some sad news for those with children of a certain age – Islabikes, the UK maker of cycles for young people, is winding down.
The Shropshire cycle manufacturer, best known for improving the design of children’s bicycles, is to close after almost two decades of trading.
Founded in 2005 by the former triple British cyclo-cross champion Isla Rowntree, the Ludlow-based company made its name developing children’s bikes with smaller hands and bodies, as well as bicycles for older people.
However, Rowntree and the managing director, Tim Goodall, have decided to shut down the business after a “turbulent and difficult time for the cycle industry”.
Islabikes had net assets of more than £4m and employed 21 people, according to its most recent company accounts, published in December last year. In 2021, Rowntree transferred majority ownership to Goodall as part of a management buyout.
“Today, it’s easy to forget just how bad most children’s bikes were when I started Islabikes 18 years ago,” Rowntree said in a press statement first reported by BBC News.
“They were monstrously heavy, fitted with outsized components and had dreadful brakes that were out of reach.
