We’ve reported on Dirt Factory’s crowdfunding/investment campaign before, and Dan Makin got in touch with news that they’ve raced past their £300K target, and have increased their goal to £450K. He says this will allow them to speed up development, though given that it’s likely to vary in relation to the final amount of investment, there’s understandably no production schedule on the page yet.
What it does mean is that the UK will be getting an indoor bike park near Manchester, and some skills training in the dry sounds very appealing to us after the winter of perpetual cloud and rain we’ve just been through. In the past year a bunch of Singletrack staff and Monday Night Pub Ride regulars have been going to the BMX track at the National Cycling Centre to brush up on pump technique, which is all kinds of useful out on the trails, and it’d be great to have somewhere more mountain bike specific to do similar training and practice.
There’s a week to go on the funding page, and Dan also sent some more polished renders of what it might look like.
Press release:
Dirt Factory crowd fund exceeds £300k target in 16 days
An online campaign to raise funds for Dirt Factory, the UK’s first indoor bike park, has gone into overfunding after reaching its initial £300k target in just over half the allotted time for investment.
Dirt Factory indoor bike park will be located in Greater Manchester and designed specifically for mountain bikes and BMXs. The team were initially aiming to raise £300k via online crowd fund platform, Crowdcube, but have increased their target to £450k after high demand from investors.
Entrepreneur and former Dragons’ Den star, Piers Linney, is one of the investors who is backing Dirt Factory. Piers said: “Dan and the Dirt Factory team contacted me a couple of years ago for advice on structure and how to develop their dream from a great plan into a business. Since then, their vision combined with unwavering persistence has really paid off as they have now raised in excess of their initial £300,000 target from over 300 private investors on the crowdfunding platform Crowdcube.
“After consultation with myself and other investors the team have taken the decision to increase the target to £450,000 to strengthen the Dirt Factory offer and to allow the more rapid development of key revenue streams. This is a huge success for a determined team that is tapping into the huge growth in all forms of cycling and the Dirt Factory will be a UK first and will no doubt become another regional cycling hub. As a keen mountain biker myself, having the ability to ride undercover all-year-round will be very welcome.”
The people behind Dirt Factory are all keen cyclists and from Greater Manchester. The team includes a construction project manager, mountain bike trail building specialists, marketing professionals and cycle coaches. The Dirt Factory team have spent the past three years researching, developing their business plan and growing a strong supporter network.
Dan Makin, one of the founders and Directors of Dirt Factory, added: “Over the last few days the rate that people have been investing in Dirt Factory has really increased. We’re delighted with the response from the crowd and urge others to find out more and invest before our campaign closes at the end of February.”
On reaching full funding, the team will turn an existing warehouse or distribution centre into a fun filled, sport and recreation centre with indoor bike trails made out of recycled dirt and shipping containers. There are also plans for an on-site café, bike shop, classrooms and space for other businesses or social enterprises.
The Dirt Factory crowd fund is live for 30 days until Monday 29 February 2016. To find out more and make an investment visit http://bit.ly/DFinvest
