Bikmo has raised £3.4 million in a Series A extension round led by Puma Private Equity to accelerate European expansion.
The Chester-based specialist cycle and e-mobility insurer, a B Corp company, 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.
As the cycle market grows, 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 in Germany were e-bike sales in 2022.
Bikmo has capitalised on this trend, 40% of new policyholders insure e-bikes and the company offers a range of insurance products to protect every type of cyclist from road cyclists and triathletes to daily commuters. It covers both individuals and commercial risks for brands including Deliveroo, plus it offers extras to protect cyclists such as legal protection and breakdown assistance.
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%+ retention rate on existing customers year on year.
It has driven growth through securing investment partners Hiscox, Development Bank of Wales and new investor, Puma Private Equity. In addition, it has built a core platform of microservices, an API ecosystem and data insights that enable Bikmo to move fast across territories, products and verticals.
Its newly developed API 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.
“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,” said David George, CEO.
“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 at 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.
“CEO 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.”