eBike conversion kit maker Swytch raises £3.8million
This article originally appeared in BusinessAge.
Swytch, the eBike conversion kit has raised £3.8 million in an oversubscribed round. A target of £750,000 was raised through Wealth Club clients in less than a month, and was oversubscribed, enabling wealthy private individual investors to take a stake in the business and reclaim 30% tax rebates on their investment. The money will be used to fund the launch of their latest product launch, the world’s first pocket sized eBike battery.
Swytch is a universal eBike conversion kit that turns almost any pedal bike into an electric bike through an easy-to-fit, lightweight conversion system. The kit is quickly removable, so users can easily switch between riding their bike conventionally or as an eBike. The launch of the pocket size battery, launching next month is an expansion of their product offering.
The funding will be used primarily to invest in people and grow the size of the team, as well as scale up manufacturing and the supply chain of their new pocket size battery. Swytch is seeking to increase production in order to keep pace with rapid growth which is forecast to grow to 100,000 units annually.
Alex Davies, CEO and Founder of Wealth Club said: “Swytch has already taken an admirable 5% of the eBike market in the UK, based on 9,000 unit sales to the UK market alone in 2020, which is an incredibly achievement and something that our clients have been keen to become a part of. The company has achieved considerable success in a short period of time, and with relatively limited investment to date and it is also profitable which is unusual for EIS backed companies at this stage. The product’s eco-credentials, engineering USPs and strong digital and brand marketing have been key factors to the success, and we are very excited to see how well the pocket kit goes down with cyclists.
The founders are ambitious and aim to grow the business to a little under £100 million of sales in five years. Supporting them along the way are commercially experienced NEDs and advisory board members, helping to deliver innovative eBike technology and enable sustainable electric transport to be more widely affordable. With the launch of the pocket size battery to expand their product offering we believe the company, which is a fast-growing, B2C business with a strong market position is well placed to continue growing.”
The company has been profitable since 2021 and between 2018 and 2021, has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 172%, significantly out-pacing the eBike market as a whole. To date, it has sold over 40,000 units to 45+ countries, primarily in the EU and USA and generated £25 million revenue - all of this from a modest initial equity investment of £875k in 2018. The eBike kit was also featured on the BBC’s technology show Click, and on Channel 5’s The Gadget Show.
The official launch date for the new Swytch Kit has not yet been announced but is anticipated in May. To learn more and watch Swytch’s pre-launch video, visit https://www.swytchbike.com/comingsoon.