Tycoon’s vision to see Britain producing thousands of bicycles again
VOLUME manufacturing of bicycles is to return to Britain as Sanjeev Gupta, the tycoon who heads Liberty House, returns to his roots.
The industrialist plans to launch a range of bikes soon, after buying the Trillion bicycle business early last year.
Gupta, who has already purchased large parts of the troubled Tata steel and Caparo manufacturing businesses, sees the plan as part of his strategy of re-energising British manufacturing, as well as a return to his past.
“My first job in my gap year in 1990, was selling Victor bikes internationally which my father’s company made,” he said.
“Because of my father’s business, I was practically born with a bike in my hands – this is me coming full circle.”
Liberty plans to launch three or four bikes in time, with the first being revealed at the London Bike Show in February.
One of the first in the range is the “single speed commuter”, which will use steel tubing in its frame which is produced in Liberty’s steel businesses.
Following later on will be a high-end carbon-fibre bike costing about £10 000 (R168 000).
“This is not a vanity project,” Gupta said, though he admitted it was a homage to his father.
“We have an engineering plant at Leamington Spa to make the bikes and will increase the UK content of them as our manufacturing businesses expand the capability to produce the parts.”
The industrialist has been a cheerleader for UK engineering, and he is convinced he can help rebuild the sector to its former glory.
He said: “Britain was once the home of the bike manufacturing industry – Raleigh was the biggest bike manufacturer in the world a century ago. In just one of its plants in Nottingham it had 10 000 staff.
“Apart from a few high-end companies, bike manufacturing has all gone now. While we plan to make premium bikes as well, bikes are the sort of engineered products we see in our end-to-end strategy.”
The launch of the range will also mark the 25th anniversary of Liberty and Gupta sees it as an example of Britain once again competitively making products which the country has largely stopped manufacturing, thanks to an integrated supply chain.
Brexit will strengthen the case of UK manufacturing, he believes, and he is encouraged by the government’s efforts to boost the sector with its nascent industrial strategy.
“Our company is looking at bikes as an example of the full circle of the sector in the UK,” he said.
“We are producing the steel from which components for products can be manufactured, and then taking them all the way to the finished product.”