Bike subscription service to gain international traction following £16.75m investment

Racing to disrupt both access and sustainability within the cycling industry, kid’s bike subscription service, Bike Club, gears up for national and European expansion after closing £16.75m in new investment.

Already the “largest bike-subscription scheme in the UK”, London based Bike Club, which is chaired by Mike Balfour OBE, founder of Fitness First, has now received this cash injection as part of a Series B funding round.

Leading the investment is Circularity Capital, a private equity firm specialising in circular economy businesses which challenges the “take-make-dispose” approach to production and consumption, encouraging the elimination of waste instead, along with existing investor Codex Capital.

Raising £13.25m to date, the bike subscription success story, solving the “pain” of having to buy children new, quality bikes every 12-18 months as they grow, has ambitions to pedal into Germany and France within the next 12 to 24 months.

Founded in 2016 by James Symes and Alexandra Rico-Lloyd, Bike Club is aiming to revolutionise the cycle industry by offering families the chance to subscribe to new or refurbished bikes and scooters online and then exchange them as their child grows.

Outgrowing the fleets of Lime, Uber and Santander Cycles, the monthly subscription program, costing between £4.49 to £15.99 per month, currently has a network of 40,000 bikes and, with the new investment, puts it on track to climb to 220,000 over the next three years. Subscribers are now set to more than double to 80,000 in the next year.

Bike Club founder and father of three, James, commented: “The pandemic, together with the growing trend for health and wellbeing, has spurred a significant uptick in family cycling and demand continues to be at its highest level in decades.

“Bike Club is on a mission to disrupt family cycling meaning you never need to buy a kids bike again. We’ve seen traction across the country with different families using us to get outdoors and enjoy a healthier more active lifestyle.

“Getting your family cycling is a massive hassle and often quite wasteful. With our unique subscriptions we take away the pain of getting the right quality bike and make giving your child the best sustainable gift.”