Much-loved British outdoors brand Alpkit have announced new investment and a restructure after falling into administration this week.
The seamless transition means that all their stores remain open, customer orders are being fulfilled, and their lifetime technical guarantee, the Alpine Bond, remains as strong as ever.
In a statement today, the firm says that “financially, times have been tough. We’ve faced a ‘triple threat’ of macro-economic pressures over the last 3 years: rapid cost inflation, a challenging retail environment, and new trade barriers while servicing post-pandemic recovery loans. Our Board has worked extensively over recent months to explore options and find a way to secure our future. This work has resulted in our securing new investment via a pre-pack process. The pre-pack process means that Alpkit briefly went into administration so that the company could be purchased by our new investor.”
“The financial restructuring means that we can continue to do what we do – offering you technical outdoor gear that works hard but costs less. The new investment also means all 194 of our jobs across our retail, warehouse, manufacturing and central teams remain. We’ll continue to be led by our existing team. Incoming investor Jeroen van den Berge, an experienced investor, operator and outdoor enthusiast, will join as Non-Executive Chair and support us as we continue to grow.”
What does this mean for the customers who have bought shares in the company in recent years? Well, Alpkit sat that they have written to their shareholders to share the news that, by Alpkit being put into administration, they have lost the value of their shares – but, that all existing crowdfund shareholders will be offered a stake in the new company.
David Hanney, CEO of Alpkit: “While today is a day of reflection on the challenges that led to this restructure—and we deeply regret the impact on our creditors, partners and shareholders—it is also the start of a vital new chapter. Under new ownership, Alpkit becomes a well-funded, more resilient business. We are keeping our team together and our purpose unchanged: to help people Go Nice Places, Do Good Things.”
Jeroen van den Berge, the new investment partner and Non-Exec Chair, said “What excites me about Alpkit is the strong heritage and values, leading product credentials, direct-to-consumer model and loyal membership base. I also share the team’s vision of Alpkit becoming a home to other complimentary brands, similar to what was achieved with Trakke. I look forward to supporting David and the team during the next phase of their exciting journey.”
More info: www.alpkit.com