Aberdeenshire bike shop owner says break-in could be 'crippling'
Three thieves broke into the Bennachie Bike Bothy in Monymusk, stealing more than £31,000 in stock
Last updated 18th Aug 2021
The owner of an Aberdeenshire bike shop is telling Northsound 1 thieves stealing six mountain bikes worth nearly £32,000 could be “absolutely crippling” and “has the potential to end the business”. The Bennachie Bike Bothy, Monymusk was broken into early Wednesday morning.
The bikes sold there are bespoke, and some parts could take up to two years to replace.
Clark Sutherland owns the shop, he said: “For us it’s absolutely crippling, between what we have in committed stock at the moment and the troubles that we have faced in supply due to covid, I hope it doesn’t, but it does have the potential to end our business.”
“They are all custom bikes, we are not talking about walking into a high-street shop and buying them like you maybe would do with some lower value bikes.
“The average price of the bikes stolen is £6000 so the components that go into that have got pretty long lead times associated with them as well and we are already absolutely stretched to build what we have on the orderbook based on components we have coming in and now we have got potentially six more bikes to do.”
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He added: “This really needs to stop happening, there has been a massive target of bike shops over the last two years and further.
“It almost feels like owning a bike shop is not a case of, if you might get broken into, it's a case of when it's going to happen.
“I don't know what measures could be put in place to help that situation.”
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Police are now appealing for witnesses to track three men and a van parked near the building in the Aberdeenshrie village at the time.
Detective Sergeant Erika Griffiths of Aberdeen CID said:
“The bikes, which are custom built and unique, are worth around £30,000.
“We are keen to trace three men and a van which was parked near to the premises shortly before the break-in.
“Anyone with any information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 0167 of 18 August."
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