KENT, United Kingdom (BRAIN) — Brompton announced plans Friday for a new global headquarters to be completed in 2027 in the town of Ashford in Kent as the UK's largest bike manufacturer aims to produce more than 200,000 bikes yearly.
Brompton will submit planning permission for the facility development, which will emphasize sustainability. It will be built within unused wetlands that the Ashford Borough Council intends to restore into a public nature reserve and bicycling path.
"The arrival of the new factory will enable Ashford to fulfill a long-held ambition to create a wetland park that will enhance the environment and encourage more people to explore the district in a sustainable, eco-focused manner," said Gerry Clarkson, Ashford Borough Council leader. "Ashford has set the pace in Kent for inward investment, and this new factory will bring many positive benefits to the local area, and will put Ashford on the map as a cycling hub."
The company expects to employ more than 1,500, who will work in a building that will utilize natural light and airflow to minimize energy consumption with solar and ground-source energy contributing. The development will support Brompton in delivering 1.5°C aligned emission reduction targets as part of its Net Zero ambitions.
"As we face climate change, combined with poor mental and physical health in our cities, where most of the world population live, we need to adapt," said Will Butler-Adams Brompton CEO. "There has been a global realization post-pandemic that we need to change how we live in our cities, to design them around the people that live in them, not the automobile. Brompton has a large part to play in supporting that transition, but we need to have more space to innovate and create the products of the future."
Brompton's current factory in Greenford, West London, will continue to operate until at least 2030.
"This represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the borough to develop a partnership with an internationally renowned cycling brand that will bring jobs and opportunities to the town," Clarkson said.
