Brompton sells stakes to Decathlon and Chinese Labubu backer

A shop attendant unfolds a Brompton folding bicycle at a shop in Beijing. The country is now Brompton’s biggest market. Photograph: Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen A shop attendant unfolds a Brompton folding bicycle at a shop in Beijing. The country is now Brompton’s biggest market. Photograph: Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images Brompton sells stakes to Decathlon and Chinese Labubu backer British bike maker says cycling market is recovering from sales slump and investments will add new expertise The French sports gear retailer Decathlon and a Chinese investment group that was an early backer of Labubu soft toys have bought stakes in the British folding bike maker Brompton, as its boss said the cycling market was recovering from a slump in sales. Decathlon has acquired a 10% stake in the manufacturer while BA Capital has bought 5% in a deal understood to collectively be worth about £18m. Brompton said the new investments would enable staff, including the chief executive, Will Butler-Adams , and long-term investors to realise some cash from the sale of shares, while also bringing in market knowledge, supply chain efficiency and technology from the brand’s new investors. “We are in this partnership to learn,” Butler-Adams said of the new deal with Decathlon Pulse, the chain’s investment arm which has previously backed brands including the bike computer maker Magene and sports watch Coros. He said BA Capital, which also holds a stake in the bicycle brand Tenways as well as Labubu maker Pop Mart, would bring expertise on China, which is now Brompton’s biggest market. Franck Vigo, the chief executive of Decathlon Pulse, said: “What convinced us goes beyond the product: we share the same values, a strong culture of quality, and a long-term vision of sustainable urban mobility. This partnership is about scaling that model while preserving what makes Brompton truly unique.” Brompton bikes, which cost from £999 to almost £6,000 for a top-of-the-range titanium ebike, will for the first time will go into dedicated “Brompton corners” in a handful of Decathlon stores. “We want to bring our bikes to a wider audience,” Butler-Adams said. He said that, despite cost of living challenges which continue to hold back sales of new bikes in Europe, the industry was now “over the worst” after a slump in sales following a pandemic boom and “cycling is in the ascendant.” He said cities around the world were adding bike lanes amid increasing interest in healthy living and pollution-free transport. View image in fullscreen Brompton chief executive Will Butler-Adams and long-term investors will realise some cash from the sale of shares. Photograph: Jill Mead/The Guardian Butler-Adams said many shareholders had backed Andrew Ritchie, who designed the bike in his shed in 1975 and set up the company, while staff also needed an opportunity to raise money from the sale of some of their share bonuses. Ritchie remains the largest shareholder. “A lot of shareholders ha