Ubco is the latest victim in this widespread plague of economic bankruptcies within the two-wheeled sector. News that leaves the future of the company up in the air, and the 89 employees who made up the brand’s staff at its facilities in Tauranga without their jobs.
This announcement comes after recently signing a commercial agreement with the Australian Postal Service. Initially, Ubco had to manufacture a total of 175 units, all of them adapted to the entity’s transportation needs. However, the administrators appointed by the company, Stephen Keen and David Ruscoe, of Grant Thornton, have communicated that this operation is no longer viable following the aforementioned dismissal of the entire staff.
Ubco looking for investment partners
Behind this situation there are some aspects that draw powerful attention, especially related to the company’s decision making. For example, they will refuse to work with military entities of any kind. This position is likely to be one of the essential reasons why Ubco ended up filing for bankruptcy. On this topic, Mark Phillips, CEO of Ubco Australia from March 2020 to September 2022, says:
“It was a disappointing decision. “We may not have won the contract, but I saw it as a missed opportunity that highlighted broader problems in the company.”as reported by the local media Autocar. All this despite the fact that last August, the company’s executive director, Oliver Hutaff, claimed to have sold more than 6,000 copies of its different models worldwide so far.
Let us remember that the brand has been operating since 2015, offering models such as the Ubco 2×2 Hunt Edition or the 2X2 SE. In addition, it had plans to increase its vehicle offering with the arrival of a new quad model.
Regarding the economic terms in which Ubco currently found itself, it had the support of the Taiwanese manufacturer TPK, with 40% of the total shares under its belt. Likewise, Global From Day One (GD1) owned around 21%, and various lower-ranking shareholders, the rest of the company’s shareholders.
