Kids bike subscription service expands into Spain by acquisition

UK-based kids bike subscription service Bike Club has expanded into another European market via acquisition.

Bike Club has bought fellow kids bike subscription service Bicircular, which operates out of Barcelona, serving Spain’s market. Following Bike Club’s move into Germany earlier this year, there are now 55,000 children in the UK, Germany and Spain.

Bike Club estimates the average child needs six or seven bikes before the age of 16 to keep up with their growth.

This latest acquisition will see Bicircular’s subscribers seamlessly join Bike Club’s community of parents and riders and become customers of the combined company. Gabriel Medina, Founder & CEO of Bicircular, also joins Bike Club in a senior leadership role to guide and execute BC’s business development strategy as Country Director for Spain.

Since setting up in London in 2016, Bike Club has been enabling parents to subscribe to premium lightweight bikes for their children, and then exchange the bikes for larger sizes as their children grow. The business has gone on to work with major retailers like John Lewis and secure funding injections from the likes of Circularity Capital, including a notable a £16.75 million pot last year which was secured for expansion in its home market and in Europe.

Gabriel Medina, Founder of Bicircular and now Head of Spain at Bike Club, said: “For several years, Bike Club has been the ‘one to watch’ in the family cycling market, creating a new way for parents to finally source bikes for their children on terms that suit their preference for ‘access over ownership’ while never compromising on the quality and selection of bikes on offer.”

James Symes, CEO of Bike Club, added: “In founding Bicircular, Gabriel has been resolute in his ambition to build a business that not only serves a community of parents with a better way to source bikes for their kids, but one that puts the Circular Economy at its heart.

“Cycling is one of life’s greatest pleasures, but it is also one of the worst offenders among family leisure pursuits for poor sustainability. At Bike Club, our team and our customers want to combat this. We bring bikes back to life over and over again, costing parents and the planet less in the process and getting more kids cycling from an early age.”

This acquisition forms part of Bike Club’s fast-growth strategy in mainland Europe. Bike Club selected Germany to launch its first non-UK operations in Autumn 2022 on account of the country’s well-established family cycling industry and culture.

Symes added: “Bike Club’s fast adoption in Germany and the market position Bicircular gained in Spain both support our conviction that the family cycling market is ripe for disruption in countries throughout Europe. We’re in a strong position to act fast on the accelerating pace of consumer demand for kids’ bike rentals, particularly as the cost of living continues to rise across the continent. Giving customers the chance to choose between buying for good and subscribing for as long as you need it is more important than ever.”