In a sign that the UK motorcycle market – especially for big 1000cc+ machines – is struggling, comes news that at least three major dealership chains went into receivership in September and October. Pidcock Motorcycles fell on 21st October, closing its Triumph and Ducati sites, and leaving its remaining BMW outlet in doubt, though there was interest for that part of the business from a potential buyer.

Nathan Jones, a partner at FRP Advisory which is administering the business, told MCN: “Pidcock is not the first retailer to struggle in challenging market conditions over the past year…While it’s unfortunate that a viable route forward for all three sites hasn’t been possible, we’re hopeful of a positive outcome for the BMW outlet.”

Pidcock’s troubles came on top of news that Completely Motorbikes, which covers 21 showrooms, also went into administration in mid-October, with poor summer sales blamed – again, the administrators are looking for potential buyers. And in Scotland, Saltire Motorcycles of Edinburgh closed its doors in early September. In July, long-running Midlands dealer StreetBike also closed down.

However, Motorcycle Industry Association CEO Tony Campbell remained upbeat when interviewed by MCN. “Even if you took out the distortions from this year, we’re still going to sell more bikes than we did in 2019….This sector has been through this before, it’s seen it before, and it’s survived before, but there are lots of smaller things, such as insurance. I think there’s a real combination of things that are triggering these changes.”

At the BMF, Jim Freeman had this to say: “It’s sad to see long established businesses like Pidcocks going to the wall, behind that are job losses and service departments disappearing. Tony Cambell’s correct, market corrections have taken place many times in the bike business, reflecting the changes in consumer demand. It’s reflected in the growth of mid-market ‘value’ bikes, in times of economic belt tightening, since the pandemic particularly, a £4-6,000 bike looks more attractive than something costing twice as much. There are other factors, but that would be a place to start. ”

Written by Peter Henshaw

Top image – authors own.