Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, “Business Angel” of cycling

The “boss of the bosses” is investing, via his holding company Notus Technologies, of which he holds 100 % of the shares, in several companies which assemble or distribute cargo bikes

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He answers the call, but apologizes immediately: “I can’t talk to you, I’m by bicycle”. However, immediately specifies Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, “it’s to go to work, not for leisure!” The work value is never far away when we question the president of Medef. For him, cycling is not only a means of transport and a Sunday passion for twenty years, it is also a value of the future.

The “boss of the bosses” is investing, via his holding company Notus Technologies, of which he holds 100 % of the shares, in several companies which assemble or distribute cargo bikes, these two-pounders or trippers capable of transporting heavy or bulky charges. Notus thus acquired Nihola, a manufacturer founded in Denmark in 1998 and Amsterdam Air, an online distributor of Dutch brands. Cargos, but also “tandems, suitable bikes, folding”, specifies Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux. In 2021, Notus acquired 24 % of twelve cycles, which has assembled its two -top beetle on the periphery of Dijon since 2012.

Why invest in the cargo bike? “This sector has a strong growth potential, for ecological, regulatory, behavioral reasons,” said the investor. While cities seek to limit the comings and goings of vans, and 45 low -emission zones prohibiting polluting vehicles are announced in metropolitan areas for 2025, the transport of packages and goods by bicycle is led to develop. The head of Notus identifies several promising underside: “Deliveries, including pallets, craftsmen’s vehicles, mobility of families and that of people with reduced mobility.”.

a “solid investor “

Thomas Coulbeaut, founder of twelve cycles, enthusiastically welcomed this prestigious investor. “Geoffroy contacted us last year. I knew he was interested in the bicycle. He represents a solid investor, which allows us to borrow money,” he said. The famous boss, “Serial Entrepreneur”, also “put oil in the cogs” to help twelve to conclude an agreement with Toyota. The car manufacturer, which displays its ambitions on the “decarbonized mobility” market, will distribute 5,500 cargoce twelve from its dealerships from summer 2023.

The Holding Notus supports its foals using “piloting tools”, especially financial. If, for the time being, the three companies are grouped in the “Outdoor pole” of Notus, Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux does not hide his “strong enough ambitions” in the sector. “I do not make you the green pitch,” he says, “but it is an ultra-active market, at the crossroads of individual passions, the need to change movement methods as well as technology, electric and connected. “Notus receives” every week of the files emanating from start-ups which offer more or less solid and more innovative projects “, testifies its leader, determined to devote more time to the holding company when he has left the presidency from Medef, “in a year”.

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/Media reports.