Earlier this year, DM Equity Partners, the investment company of Quote 500 billionaire and kitchen champion Ben Mandemakers, pumped €13.4 million into the ailing Stella Fietsen from Nunspeet. Now it reports FD that DM Equity considers it ‘not responsible’ to continue investing millions in the ailing bicycle manufacturer. Stella Fietsen was founded by Daan van Renselaar and Wilco van de Kamp, who were in Quote’s Top 100 Young Self-made Millionaires for years and had to leave earlier.
Stella Fietsen has been 100% owned by DM Equity Partners since the end of last year and has been piling up losses after losses for years. After a modest net profit of around €7 million was achieved in 2021, the net loss in 2022 was €17.4 million. Stella also wrote that the air ran out of tires in 2023 FDwith an EBITDA of minus €12 million. This year, things went even worse, Stella’s management told the newspaper when asked, the counter would now already be minus €13.7 million.
Stella Fietsen is heading for a financial disaster
These millions in losses are mainly due to declining demand, rising costs and increasing competition. They also had to pay an additional tax of €5 million from the tax authorities due to incorrect VAT returns. All in all, this means that Stella is heading straight for financial disaster. Especially now that Mandemakers no longer wants to provide a guardrail by continuing to pump millions into the loss-making bicycle maker. Something it has been doing since 2018.
Ben Mandemakers no longer has confidence in it
Mandemakers and associates do not see it happening that Stella can achieve a U-turn towards profitability with the current course. According to the FD, about a thousand people are currently still waiting for a Stella Bicycle, an order they can probably whistle for. Stella currently employs approximately 440 employees.
After VanMoof suffered a puncture last year and fat bike manufacturer Doppio recently crashed, Stella is now the next bicycle manufacturer on the verge of collapse.
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