According to EU-Startups, the Ukrainian investment syndicate Toloka.vc has provided a €215,000 secured loan to British electric bike company GIN e-bikes. The two-year debt deal carries a 12% annual interest rate and is backed by the company’s bike fleet. Founders Marina Vlasenko and Rahul Pushp, who started the company in 2022, will use the capital to purchase 160 new electric bicycles for their PLUTO subscription service in London. The immediate goal is to reach 100 active subscribers within six months, up from a current pilot of 37 users. Each bike generates about £158 in average monthly revenue, and hitting that 100-user target would mean roughly £200,000 in annual recurring revenue. Future plans include a £1 million raise in 2026 to scale the fleet to 1,000 bikes.
The subscription gambit
Here’s the thing: selling a cheap e-bike directly is tough. The market is flooded, and margins are thin. So GIN’s pivot to a subscription model for couriers and commuters isn’t just smart, it’s probably necessary for survival. They’re not just renting hardware. They’re bundling maintenance, insurance, and accessories into that ~£158 monthly fee, which is a compelling package for someone whose livelihood depends on a reliable bike. And their circular economy angle—selling the bikes after a 12-month cycle—is a neat way to squeeze out extra revenue and look good doing it. But is it enough? That’s the real question.
A crowded London market
Now, let’s talk about the battlefield: London. This isn’t a green field. You’ve got legacy bike rental schemes, other e-bike subscription startups, and a ton of casual rental apps. PLUTO’s focus on the “professional” user—the gig worker—is a sharp niche. It’s a customer who needs the bike daily, values the full-service package, and might be less price-sensitive than a casual commuter. But scaling from 37 to 100 users is one thing. Scaling to 1,000 bikes is a whole different game requiring serious operational muscle. Maintenance logistics, customer service, and managing that secondary sales channel will become monstrously complex, fast. Their planned 2026 fundraise of £1 million will be a crucial test of whether this model can truly scale.
The debt detail
The funding structure itself is fascinating. A €215k secured loan at 12% isn’t typical venture capital. It’s expensive, asset-backed debt. This tells me two things. First, traditional equity investors might be skeptical about the capital intensity and margins of a hardware rental biz. Second, Toloka.vc is playing a different game—they have a physical asset (the bike fleet) as collateral, so their risk is lower. For GIN, it’s a way to get growth capital without giving away more equity so early. But that 12% interest is a heavy monthly nut to crack, especially before hitting real scale. It puts immediate pressure on those unit economics. Every bike needs to be rented, and profitable, basically from day one.
The road ahead
So, what’s the verdict? The pivot makes strategic sense, and the early metrics (£158/month/bike) seem solid. But the path is paved with operational potholes. Managing a growing fleet in a major city is a brutal, low-margin business—just ask any PLUTO competitor. It requires robust systems for tracking, servicing, and refurbishing assets, the kind of industrial-grade logistics where reliable hardware for management is key. If they can nail the operations, prove the unit economics at 100 bikes, and then secure that bigger £1 million round, they might just carve out a sustainable lane. If not, well, that 12% loan is going to start feeling very heavy very quickly.
