Brompton boss says bike industry ‘in turmoil’ as profits nearly wiped out

Profits at the brand fell 99% from £10.7m to just £4,602 in the year to March 2024, as Brompton struggled against discounting competitors and an increasingly spending-conscious consumer. 

Sales at the company fell 5.3% to £122.6m for the period, as Brompton sold 8.2% fewer bikes in the year, according to the latest filings with Companies House. 

Managing director Will Butler-Adams said the 99% drop in profits represented a “really sad state of affairs” for the global bicycle market, which he claimed is awash in overstock after an explosion in demand during the pandemic. 

“The industry is still in turmoil and will not get better this year. It will not be as bad as 2024 but there is still excess stock.”

Butler-Adams also said that Brompton had been hit by widespread discounting by troubled businesses trying to clear stock, particularly in the US and in Europe, and that the industry was being squeezed by electric bike rental schemes like Lime and Gocycle. 

He added that the “retail environment has been decimated” for bike sales in the UK, with the closure of independent chains as well as other British bicycle manufacturers such as Mercian, Orange Mountain Bikes and P Bairstow.

Brompton has put plans to move to a new headquarters in Kent on hold and cancelled a planned £1.2m dividend payout. 

Despite the industry’s troubles, Butler-Adams said that Brompton would be protected by offering “more utilitarian” bicycles for commuters and was buoyed by the fact that many cities around the world are building more cycling infrastructure. 

“London, Edinburgh, New York, Seville, Paris all have the momentum of getting people more active for air quality and trying to get people fitter. In the macro picture, things are going in the right direction. The industry shot itself in the foot but that will roll out,” Butler-Adams said.