UK Business News

Undiscovered Business Entrepreneurs

Every day in rush hour London, be-suited businessmen disembark from the morning train and ride off to their work destinations on odd looking fold up bicycles.

While the average person may not have considered it, a folding bicycle is an impressive feat of engineering. It needs to be easily collapsible yet maintain alignment to offer a comfortable and speedy ride – it’s a daunting task for any entrepreneur.

Back in the mid seventies a trained engineer who was working at the time as a landscape gardener was intrigued by the idea of building a bicycle ‘that could fit in your pocket.’

Andrew Ritchie designed several prototypes before launching his business in 1976, the business was named Brompton, after the Brompton Oratory church opposite his home.

Despite the bicycle’s ingenuity and Ritchie’s enthusiasm, bike manufacturers showed little interest, forcing him to go into production for himself. He had no problems selling his bikes, but between Ritchie and his single employee, he couldn’t build more than 300 a year from his little workshop in London.

Now the company has a turnover of £10million and is growing about 25% a year. About 70% of the bikes are sold abroad, particularly to the Netherlands, Germany, the USA and Japan. Amazingly, manufacturing still takes place in London.

The existing factory has the capacity for Brompton to double its output, and with another 15 years on its lease, there is no reason to doubt that Brompton will remain the best of British, made in the heart of London.