Brixton Cycles have hit their £30,000 fundraising target with nearly 1,000 donors helping to save the business.
The long-established community cycle shop, a workers’ co-operative, launched the appeal after being hit by a three-week power cut.
“It’s no surprise to anyone that times have been tough in the bicycle industry since the cost of living crisis,” Brixton Cycles said in their Gofundme appeal and on Instagram.
“While we have strived to provide the best service to all our customers and kept our crew on a sustainable wage, our business has been suffering this year (2023 was our worst financial year for 20 years).
“Towards the end of 2023, the lights went out, literally. A three-week external electrical fault brought us to our knees.
“Our insurance has covered some of the loss of earnings and the damaged equipment but not all of it.
“We kept our doors open and did our best to repair bikes with the aid of head torches, but we are, in all honesty, struggling to bounce back.
“Now we are asking humbly for some help,” said the appeal.
Their target was £30k. This corresponds with about three to four weeks loss of earnings from the power outage. “This amount would help us to get through and bounce back,” they said.
One donor among many kept the appeal in the public eye. Hard-hitting satirist Chris Morris (The Day Today and Brass Eye) not only donated, but took to Instagram to explain why.
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