The European-focused e-bike brand owned by Radvance Cayman hopes to recharge its finances after losing money for the last three years

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Key Takeaways:

• Radvance Cayman, owner of the Tenways e-bike brand, has posted losses in the last three years, with negative operating cash flow in two of those
• Growth in the highly competitive European e-bike market, which accounts for most of the company's sales, is expected to slow in the next five years

As investors flock to high-tech concepts like microchips and robots in one of Hong Kong's hottest IPO markets in years, Radvance Cayman Ltd. has seized on the momentum to offer up what it hopes will be an equally racy new listing. That's our key takeaway from the IPO plan filed late last month by the maker of Tenways e-bikes, which targets a European market where such bikes are gaining traction as governments race to reduce their carbon emissions.

The company's e-bikes represent a product category that falls between scooters and traditional bikes, providing pedaling assistance to the rider that automatically tapers off as speed approaches 25 kph, according to its listing document. Such vehicles are attractive because they typically require neither vehicle registration nor a driver's license, with base models starting around 1,100 euros ($1,276). That combination has gained traction within Europe, where cycling is a common form of transport.

While anchored in Europe both in terms of production and sales, the company is the brainchild of a Chinese entrepreneur, which perhaps explains its decision to list in Hong Kong. Founder Liang Xiaoling, 41, obtained an engineering master's degree from Sun Yat-Sen University in 2014, then served as marketing director for the Trinity bicycle brand in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province. He hung out his own shingle in 2021, hoping to use his years of engineering and management experience in his new company.

Liang recognized the potential for e-bikes in Europe, noting the region's deeply entrenched and vibrant cycling culture, including the Netherlands' reputation as Europe's bicycle kingdom, and established Tenways Technovation Europe B.V. in 2022. The company caters to local rider characteristics, such as taller average stature and preference for an upright riding posture,  with its rollout of the CGO009 model in February 2024. The product was well received in its target Dutch market, helping to boost the brand's recognition more broadly across Europe.

Big backers

Radvance conducted five funding rounds in China between 2021 and 2024, attracting big-name investors like Hillhouse, Tencent, and LVMH-backed L Catterton. Its ultimate aim was an IPO, despite still lacking profits five years after starting operations.

The company's revenue logged solid growth in 2024, rising 26.2% that year to 60.64 million euros. But then things suddenly slowed last year, as its revenue rose just 3.1% year-on-year to 54.19 million euros in the first nine months. Throughout that time the company's gross margin has steadily improved as it gained scale and experience, rising from 25.8% in 2023 to 30.4% in 2024, and further to 31.8% in the first nine months of last year.

The company has incurred significant losses over the last three years, much of that due to changes in the value of financial instruments. Fair value losses linked to its convertible redeemable preferred shares issued during pre-IPO funding rounds amounted to 1.5 million euros in 2023, 29.64 million euros in 2024, and 30.14 million euros in the first nine months of 2025. Those charges, which are non-cash items, were a primary drag on the company's bottom line, leading to net losses of 4.65 million euros in 2023, 34.47 million euros in 2024, and 30 million euros in the first nine months of 2025.

On an adjusted basis, which excludes fair value changes in financial instruments and other non-cash items, the company passed an important milestone when it became profitable with a 1.24 million euro profit in the first nine months of last year, reversing a 1.44 million euro loss a year earlier.

The company was also generating negative cash flow from its core operations until recently, including a 21.2 million euro outflow in 2023 and 13.2 million euros in 2024. But it also turned positive for that metric last year when it reported a modest positive cash inflow from operations of 1.83 million euros in the first nine months.

The company has depended on bank borrowings and money raised by issuing convertible redeemable preferred shares to keep pedaling forward on its road to profitability. Still, its listing document points out that a return to negative net cash flow from operating activities could constraint its working capital.

Net liabilities surge

While its cash flow situation has been improving, the company's net current liabilities have also been rising quickly, growing from 10.96 million euros at the end of 2023 to 70.76 million euros by the end of last September. Its mounting obligations could expose the company to liquidity strains and heighten financial risk, underscoring its need for more capital through a public listing.

Radvance is also exposed to foreign exchange risk, since most of its revenue is derived from Europe while many of its component suppliers are in China.

The company's historical financial performance lacks notable positive highlights, and its future outlook appears similarly uninspiring. The European e-bike market that's Tenways' main revenue source is rapidly maturing. That market grew at an average annual rate of 9.1% from 2020 to 2024, but the pace is expected to slow to 7.1% from 2024 to 2029, according to third-party market data in the listing document. Moreover, competition remains intense, with the top five players collectively commanding about 33.9% of the market. Tenways places fifth within its core Benelux markets of Belgium, the Netherlands Luxembourg, yet it holds a modest market share there of just 5.9%.

In addition to Benelux, Tenways' other major market is Germany. Benefitting from a new model launch, its revenue jumped 21.3% year-on-year in its core Benelux markets during the first nine months of 2025. But stiff competitive led to a 17.6% contraction in Germany during that time, resulting in a modest 3.7% revenue increase for all of Europe in the first nine months of last year.

While founded by a Chinese entrepreneur aggressively targeting the European market, the Tenways brand is riding into a rapidly maturing and fiercely competitive local bicycle market, creating significant challenges. The company's listing could also be hamstrung by a current preference for hotter high-tech stocks over this kind of European consumer discretionary play. Those factors could cool demand for the company's shares even as it rides into one of Hong Kong's hottest IPO markets in years.

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Benzinga Disclaimer: This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga’s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.