Halfords has moved its cycling business up a gear with the acquisition of Olympic champion Chris Boardman's bike company.
The bicycles-to-car accessories retailer has paid between £10m and £15m for Boardman Bikes, according to sources familiar with the deal. Halfords declined to comment on the price.
Halfords already sells about 50,000 bikes a year in the Boardman performance series – a range of road, mountain and hybrid bikes priced £500-£1,800. Boardman's elite bikes, which cost up to £9,000 and are ridden by champion triathletes Alistair and Jonny Brownlee, are only available in independent cycle shops, who will keep this exclusivity.
Boardman remains a minority shareholder of the firm he founded in 2004 with partners Alan Ingarfield and Sarah Mooney. This followed his record-breaking career where he pioneered aerodynamic bikes, starting at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics when he won a gold medal riding a Lotus-designed carbon fibre bike. He retired in 2000 after wearing the Tour de France yellow jersey three times.
Matt Davies, Halfords chief executive, said Boardman and his team had created "one of the most important, fastest growing and successful brands in UK cycling".
Halfords saw sales race ahead by 8% last year, thanks to strong demand for bikes designed by Boardman and Olympian Victoria Pendleton. The retailer is expecting a further sales boost from a summer of UK events including the grand départ of the Tour de France in Yorkshire, and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Following the deal, Halfords will no longer pay a royalty to Boardman Bikes, which will remain a standalone company, with Boardman as chairman and design director. He said: "This step will take the brand to the next level and their backing will allow us to further develop our research and development and extend our award-winning cycling ranges."