Tucked into a small corner of Scotland, Shand Cycles is alive and well. Originally a solo custom frame building operation started by Steven Shand in 2003, Steven joined forces with Russell Stout 2010 in an attempt to grow the brand. That brought them to their current location in 2011, though it has since grown considerably in size. What once consisted of little more than a jig, alignment table, and a lathe, has since grown into a small but fully functioning hub of bicycle manufacturing. And thanks to a surprising acquisition, it looks as if things are just getting started.
Late last year, it was announced that Shand Cycles had been acquired by the Liberty House Group – a massive industrial group that focuses primarily on vehicle technology and metals. But it’s important to point out that this is not your typical acquisition by a mega corporation. Instead, Liberty’s Executive Chairman Sanjeev Gupta has an eye on the rejuvenation of British bicycle manufacturing and seems to be using Shand as the base of operations. While that may seem a bit odd at first, consider that Sanjeev’s first job was selling bicycles by Victor which was a bicycle manufacturing company owned by his father. In a way, Sanjeev is following in his father’s footsteps, but in his own unique way with a focus on green technology and manufacturing.
