"Serious doubts about survival": Cowboy publishes financial report for 2024

When Cowboy announced in mid-August that it had found new funding to continue operations after months of silence, it sounded as if the company had found a way out of the crisis. However, the long-term deal with the French Rebirth Group is not yet in the bag. The financial figures now published in the delayed annual report for 2024 paint a bleak picture and the threat of insolvency. According to Cowboy, this could still be averted.

The annual report for 2024, which was submitted to the Belgian National Bank on Friday and dated August 4, shows how urgently Cowboy needs new funding. The report, which is available to the Belgian newspaper De Tijd, ends with the final sentence: “There are significant uncertainties that raise serious doubts about the survival of the company, which could prevent it from meeting its obligations.” Cowboy also quantifies the multi-million euro loss caused by the frame recall announced at the beginning of May and names the accused supplier.

Cowboy explains to heise online: “The risk described in the 2024 report no longer reflects our current situation. Today, Cowboy is on a more solid footing; 2025 is already showing signs of recovery, and our focus is firmly on execution.”

The year 2024 was supposed to mark a turnaround at Cowboy and bring the company into the black. However, Cowboy has instead continued to incur massive losses: turnover fell by 30 percent to 21.7 million euros, compared to more than 40 million euros in 2022, and losses increased from 19.4 to 21.2 million euros. This means that Cowboy's losses were almost as high as its turnover. Since the company was founded in 2017, cumulative losses have already amounted to over 123 million euros. Equity is minus 43 million euros, while the debt burden has risen from 43 million euros in 2023 to 56 million euros.

Cowboy names culprits for framework situation

In addition to the gloomy financial figures for 2024, Cowboy also named his former supplier, who is said to be responsible for the recall of the Cruiser ST (Edition MR) models in May 2025. According to Cowboy, the Taiwanese supplier Ming Cycle is responsible for the defect in the frames. It also states, “The manufacturing defect on the frames is due to a unilateral change in the welding process by the supplier Ming without complying with the technical specifications validated by the company.”

Cowboy said it had already set aside €2.8 million in 2024 for the estimated recall costs and was now negotiating with Ming to supply free replacement frames. A Cowboy spokesperson confirmed to De Tijd that they had received replacement frames free of charge. The spokesperson added, “Discussions are ongoing with our suppliers and stakeholders about extending this support to the remaining frames, and we are confident that the cooperation will continue.” The total cost of the recall is expected to be €5.6 million. The costs are based on a return rate of 80 percent of affected users, it is said.

According to current information, however, Cowboy is not making it particularly easy for its customers to have affected frames replaced. This is because the manufacturer is setting up “recall centers” or "recall hubs," which are regional logistics warehouses where customers are supposed to deliver their bikes. It is not possible to pick up or drop off at a bike repair shop that is part of the established repair network.

Uncertainties

To get out of financial difficulty, the company's agreement with the Rebirth Group, which was announced in August, would have to be implemented in the coming weeks and “should cover the refinancing requirements identified over the next 12 months,” it says. Cowboy has already received an initial portion of the funding, the company explained to us on request. It will receive the remainder once the deal has been finalized.

As far as long-term financing is concerned, long-term investor Triple Point Capital will remain an important factor for Cowboy alongside the Rebirth Group. In addition to the EUR 1 million invested in 2024, the global VC fund invested a further EUR 2.8 million in Cowboy in the first seven months of 2025 to keep the company afloat. Despite these developments, it sounds as if Cowboy is still far from being on the safe side.

Despite the shaky financial situation and the gloomy forecast in the annual report, Cowboy reaffirms its commitment to completing outstanding deliveries and strengthening the business in a press release dated September 8. As we wrote in an earlier post, many customers are still waiting for their Cowboy bikes ordered months ago or for spare parts so that they can use their bikes again. Other customers who have canceled their order after months of waiting in vain are waiting months for their refund, as one reader told us. A concrete answer to this inquiry at Cowboy has so far remained unanswered. However, they wanted to give us more details.

Nevertheless, Cowboy is confident: “The annual report reflects Cowboy's situation at the end of 2024. Since then, our situation has changed considerably,” a Cowboy spokesperson told the trade journal Bike-EU. “The year 2025 is already showing encouraging signs of recovery, with our focus firmly on delivering and meeting the needs of our riders,” it added.

The company has also presented a five-year strategic plan and brought in two new consultants to put the company on a secure footing: one is a former CEO of Dutch bicycle giant Accell (Batavus, Koga, Raleigh, and more), and another is an independent financial expert. These two experts would have looked at the company's current situation and future goals, “focusing on stimulating growth, expanding the company's repair network, improving profit margins, and controlling costs,” according to the statement.

(afl)