An innovative UK E-bike subscription provider is set to nearly treble its business over the next two years as it rides on a huge wave of growth in the nation’s electrically-powered bicycle market. Blike, which provides E-bikes to its customers through an affordable subscription model, operates throughout the UK through a network of independent retail partners.
With Mintel research forecasting the UK E-bike market will increase from £300m in 2022 to £2bn in the next eight years, London-based Blike is on target to grow its revenues from around £750K last year to over £3.4m in this current financial year. Its sales are forecast to climb to over £9m in 2025 as rising numbers of UK consumers and businesses turn to electric cycles as a cost effective, sustainable, and healthy mode of transport.
Blike is the only subscription service provider to offer a wide selection of both new and recycled E-bike models with choice of brand and category an important element of its offering. The company also caters to the B2B market providing bicycles for a client’s employees through the UK Cycle to Work Scheme and via fleet sales. It has established partnerships with a number of hospitality sector businesses and healthcare organisations including Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust, providing it with more than 40 insured and maintained E-bikes for community health workers.
Launched in 2022, Blike was founded by its CEO Tim Carrigan and Steven Ellis, the company’s CFO. Carrigan is an established tech entrepreneur who set up one of London’s first digital agencies, which was acquired by WPP in 1999. Ellis is a former hedge fund manager with more than 25 years’ experience operating in key markets within the global finance sector.
The company’s key advisers include serial tech investor Jan Petzel, who was previously with global management consultants McKinsey and international investment bank Goldman Sachs, and Jay Lakhani, a London-based venture capitalist (VC) investor, previously recognised on Forbes Magazine’s 30 Under 30 list for Science & Healthcare.
To help achieve its scaling ambitions, Blike has launched a new investment round targeting a minimum raise of £150K through crowdfunding. The company will use the funds to develop its technology, allowing major bike brands to tailor a Blike subscription to their own customer base.
Investment funds will also be allocated to expand Blike’s team, with plans to create 10 new positions within the next year, and bolstering its marketing efforts to enhance brand visibility and growth.
While the company’s current focus is on UK growth, it plans to target the European E-bike market from 2027.
Blike CEO, Tim Carrigan said: “At Blike, our mission is to make E-bikes accessible to everyone. We’re fuelling the E-bike revolution by empowering consumers with a wider selection, flexible options, and the chance to break down barriers to entry. This innovative approach, which focuses on affordability, choice, flexibility, and convenience, has driven significant growth since our launch two years ago. We’re on track for major revenue gains as we expand our B2C and B2B reach, getting more people on E-bikes and enjoying the benefits of green commuting, convenient transport, and pure two-wheeled fun!
“We are excited about this investment round as it will help provide some added financial support to scale the business by further enhancing our technology and enabling additional marketing investment to help us grow our presence across the UK.
Blike CFO Steven Ellis said: “A broad range of factors including growing traffic congestion in UK cities, cost of living pressures and a greater focus on health and wellbeing continue to drive our sales and strong unit economics. We are well-positioned to achieve further growth on the back of these trends and we’re the type of business that outperforms during periods of financial stress.
“While Blike’s revenue projections are significant, they are also measured with a realistic target of capturing just 1.4% of an increasingly expanding market. Our approach in scaling our business follows a similar model in place across Europe, where the E-bike market is more developed than in the UK, and in many countries where E-bikes account for more than 50% of total bike sales. ”