The sale of struggling Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative has been completed to a private company led by its director Alan Nestor.
Administrator Interpath was appointed on 1 October 2026, and joint managers Alistair McAlinden and James Dewar have announced completion of the sale of the co-op to Rothar26 Limited, “in a deal that secures the future of the brand, including four stores”.
Established in 1977, Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative is a retailer of premium cycling brands, which traded from six retail stores and operated a distribution centre in Newbridge.
In recent years, the business has warned of significant financial pressure as a result of declining sales, with inflation affecting discretionary consumer spending.
The leadership team launched a turnaround plan to strengthen its financial position, said Interpath, but sustained trading losses gave rise to cash flow difficulties, impacting the ability to meet liabilities and secure additional debt funding.
“Without a viable solvent solution, the business couldn’t continue in its current form,” Interpath added.
As part of the deal, the stores in Stockbridge (Edinburgh), Bruntsfield (Edinburgh), Newcastle and Stirling will transfer to the Rothar26, alongside 35 staff. The store in Aberdeen and the business’ distribution centre are not part of the transaction and will close. The store in Canonmills (Edinburgh) had already closed prior to the appointment. The remaining 25 members of staff have been made redundant.
Although Rothar26 is listed as a private limited company, Interpath says the new business will continue to trade under the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative brand.
As part of Rothar26 Limited, it says it will honour all gift vouchers, which can be presented by customers at any of the four open stores in the normal manner. Customers who have placed orders or have bikes in shop will have those fulfilled and should complete their purchase as usual.
For customers to the Aberdeen store, customer deposits have been ring-fenced and will be returned by the joint managers. The joint managers say they will arrange with customers the collection of any bikes in this store for repair.
Alistair McAlinden, managing director Interpath and joint manager of Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative Limited, said: “The Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative brand has been part of the fabric of the cycling community for decades. Despite a loyal customer base and commitment to a turnaround plan, it could not overcome persistent economic challenges. We are pleased to have completed a transaction that will see the brand continue and wish the buyer every success.
“Unfortunately, the economics of the business meant that not all operations could be rescued and our immediate priority is to support impacted staff through this difficult period in making claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.”
