London-based Bike Club, a kid’s bike subscription service, has closed £16.75 million in funding as part of its Series B funding round.
Leading the investment is Circularity Capital, a private equity firm specialising in circular economy businesses along with existing investor Codex Capital.
How will it use funds?
With this investment, Bike Club intends to double down on the circular economy. Also, it plans to use the fresh funds to expand both with the UK and Europe. The company is in plans to expand into Germany and France within the next 12 to 24 months.
Currently, the company has a network of 40,000 quality bikes. It plans to use a part of the investment to increase its fleet to 220,000 over the next three years. Besides this, the company plans to increase its subscriber base to more than double, reaching 80,000 by 2023.
David Mowat, Partner of Circularity Capital, said: “As society faces climate change, we should work together to consume better, meaning we should rent better things and refurbish them. This is exactly the option Bike Club gives tens of thousands of families across the UK.”
Jamie Lawson-Brown, a co-founder of Codex Capital and Board member of Bike Club said: “Codex Capital and its co-investors, including Brett Palos Investments, first invested in Bike Club during the summer of 2020, a challenging time for all businesses being the height of the first C-19 lockdown. We look forward to working closely with Circularity Capital and Management to build the business during its next phase of exponential growth.”
Bike Club subscription model
Founded in 2016 by James Symes and Alexandra Rico-Lloyd in London, Bike Club is revolutionising 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.
With this subscription model, it solves the pain point of having to buy children new, quality bikes every 12-18 months as kids grow.
Surpassing the fleets of Lime, Uber and Santander Cycles, the easy-to-manage monthly subscription program offered by Bike Club costs between £4.49 to £15.99 per month.
Customers can choose from a selection of well-known, quality bike brands including Frog, Forme, Strider, Woom, Puky, Squish and Isla.
Bike Club co-founder and father of three, James, was previously a Special Advisor to the Chairman of KPMG said, “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.”
Brings in circular economy
Notably, bikes are not only a costly burden for both families but also the environment as the manufacturing of just one bike results in emissions of 96 kg CO2 in greenhouse gases.
Bike Club’s circular economy results in less bikes that go into production each year. Each of their bikes is saving 336 kg CO2 as opposed to an already owned bike. So far, their fleet has saved 1,174 tonnes of CO2 versus ownership.
Furthermore, in the UK, there are nearly 12.5 million unused bikes. Apparently, there are millions of sheds and garages across the globe that have become unnecessary graveyards for outgrown bikes. With its subscription model, Bike Club resolves these pressing issues faced by the environment.
