Bike insurance firm Bikmo looking to accelerate off multi-million-pound equity round

Flintshire-based specialist cycle and e-mobility insurer Bikmo has raised £3. 4m to accelerate its expansion and drive production innovation. Its series A extension round has been led by Puma Private Equity with five angel investors also participating.

With the European cycling market growing rapidly, the B Corp certified specialist insurer protects over 75,000 riders in the UK, Ireland, Germany and Austria and is currently focusing on expanding into other European markets and supporting multinational partners. The European Parliament has called for 2024 to be the Year of Cycling to double the distance covered by cyclists by 2030. E-bike adoption is also rising significantly with UK electric bike sales growing by over 40% in 2020 while 50% of bike sales The business has scaled significantly since launch through securing strategic partnerships with leading organisations such as British Cycling and Cyclescheme and has delivered an 85%.

It has driven growth through securing investment partners Hiscox, Development Bank of Wales and new investor, Puma Private Equity. Its newly developed API (application programming interface) technology means it can deliver embedded insurance solutions (insurance that can be purchased as part of another product or service transaction) through retail, manufacturing and other partners to integrate the product into their customer journeys to maximise conversions. Bikmo has delivered its first fully embedded insurance solution with BuyCycle in Germany and is focusing on integrating embedded solutions with new and relevant existing partners.

David George, chief executive of Bikmo, said: “We’re stoked to close this round and onboard Puma Private Equity as we accelerate growth in the UK and Europe, the next big step in our mission to protect the world’s riders. Working with a company aligned with our values combined with their depth of experience in international growth across a wide range of technology-enabled sectors is a perfect match for Bikmo. “The investment will allow us to invest into the people and technology we need to both support and protect our existing rider base and trusted partners, as well as exciting growth projects.

” Kelvin Reader, investment director, Puma Private Equity commented: “We are really excited to be backing Bikmo at this significant stage in their growth journey. They are ideally placed as one of the UK’s largest specialist bike insurers to capitalise on the e-bike movement and the increasing number of people opting to use bikes as a mode of transport. David George and his team launched the business with a mission to build a service that enables riders to spend more time doing what they love and that is still at the heart of what they are delivering.

Having secured notable partnerships and built API technology to maximise conversions they’re on an impressive growth trajectory. Sam Macalister-Smith of the Development Bank of Wales said: “We are delighted that our investment in Bikmo brought the award winning business to Wales in 2020 and has since helped to fund global growth with the support of key partners including British Cycling. With a strong management team, scalable technology and significant market opportunity, Bikmo is a compelling investment proposition that will now also benefit from the specialist support of Puma Private Equity.

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