A bright yellow fixture of the Portal Container Village in Bellingham is looking for a new owner. Sun-E-Land Bikes, which sells and rents electric bicycles from a repurposed metal shipping container in the waterfront venue, has posted itself for sale on the business marketplace BizBuySell.
In the listing, owner Matt Holmes — who also is a full-time teacher — explained the reason for selling is, “family growth, we now have two kids and my wife is going back to work full time.”
Described as a turn-key business with an average revenue of $95,000 the last two years, Holmes is asking $50,000, a price that includes the building, inventory, “cost-free training of the business and operations” and help with the transfer of the Port of Bellingham lease.
Sun-E-Land Bikes originally started in 2020 as a garage-based pandemic project for Holmes, then moved to its striking yellow container in the waterfront Village at 296 W. Laurel St. in April 2022. In 2023, the company expanded to offer guided tours around Bellingham and Whatcom County and fully operates during the Village’s typical May-through-September season. In addition to featuring its own brand of electric bikes for rent or sale, it also provides bike shop service.
Initially, Holmes was asking $80,000 for the family-owned business but recently dropped the price to $50,000 to spur interest.
“That’s as low as I plan to go,” Holmes said. “I’m just trying to find a buyer before we get to the riding season, to put them in a good place and me in a good place.” So far, he said, he’s had no offers but has several meetings set.
As to the business’ potential, the listing promotes Sun-E-Land Bikes as “a growing brand with a solid reputation and opportunities to expand the product line, services and locations. With hundreds of bikes already sold, customers will return for servicing, parts and future sales.”
Holmes’ ideal purchaser?
“I think it’d be someone who has a similar vision to me, and who understands the bicycling culture of Bellingham,” he said. “I have really enjoyed my time working at the Portal and working with the Port, and I’ll continue to do so until we find a buyer.”
Frank Catalano writes about business and related topics for CDN; reach him at frankcatalano@cascadiadaily.com.
