Andrew Ritchie (born circa 1947)
is the inventor of the
Brompton folding bicycle
A folding bicycle is designed to be compacted into a smaller, more manageable size or shape, making it easier to store or carry . When folded, the bikes can be more easily carried into buildings, on public transportation (facilitating mixed-mo ...
, and has guided the Brompton Bicycle company to become the largest bicycle manufacturer in the UK.
In 1995 he received the
Queen's Award for Export and in 2009 the
Prince Philip Designers Prize
The Prince Philip Designers Prize is an annual design recognition given by the Chartered Society of Designers and originally awarded by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921–2021).
It is the longest running design award in the United Kingdom, ...
.
In the Queen's Birthday Honours of 21 April 2010, the company was awarded two Queen's Awards for Enterprise – in the Innovation and International Trade categories
Brompton has now produced well over 1.100,000 bicycles and in 2008 achieved 25,000 units for export to markets such as the Netherlands, America, Germany, Japan and Scandinavia.
A
University of Cambridge, Cambridge engineering graduate, Ritchie was working as a
landscape gardener in London when, in 1976, he conceived the idea for a folding bike, which he subsequently named after the
Brompton Oratory.
[Laurance, Ben (7 August 2005]
"The bicycle that turned into folding money"
''The Guardian'', His design won the 'Best Product' award against an international field at the Cyclex exhibition in April 1987.
After devoting his life to the development and manufacture of the bike, he began to step back from the day-to-day running of the company in 2005, reduced his shareholding, and now acts as Technical Director.
[Stone, Andrew (20 July 2008)]
"How I made it: Andrew Ritchie of Brompton Bicycle"
''Sunday Times''[Brompton Official site — People](_blank)
He was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(MBE) in the
2010 New Year Honours for services to Business and to International Trade.
Early career
After graduating in engineering from
Trinity College,
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, in 1968,
[Brompton official site, History](_blank)
Ritchie worked as a computer programmer for
Elliott Automation which subsequently became part of
Marconi. He then spent 5 years as a self-employed
landscape gardener.
In the mid-1970s his father, a stockbroker, introduced him to Bill Ingram and the
Bickerton bike, which in turn triggered his own ideas for a folding bicycle.
Ritchie persuaded 10 friends to invest £100 each so that he could build a prototype which was completed one year later.
Two more prototypes were built in the bedroom of his flat overlooking
Brompton Oratory in
South Kensington
South Kensington is a district at the West End of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with the advent of the ra ...
, London – hence the bike's name.
After failing to license the design to
Raleigh Bicycle Company
The Raleigh Bicycle Company is a British bicycle manufacturer based in Nottingham, England and founded by Woodhead and Angois in 1885. Using Raleigh as their brand name, it is one of the oldest bicycle companies in the world. After being acquir ...
he managed to sell 30 bicycles to order for £250 each in advance. Convinced that there had to be at least another 20 people willing to buy one, he produced 50 rather than just the 30. After 18 months, the bikes were delivered – and all 50 were sold.
In the early 1980s, Ritchie raised £8,000 from shareholders, and made 500 bikes over 2 years.
Bicycle manufacturer
Ritchie received private funding of £40,000 from
Julian Vereker, founder of
Naim Audio and a yacht manufacturer, who had originally bought two Bromptons after a chance discussion about 'folding bicycles' whilst on one of his yachts in Cherbourg in 1982.
An additional £10,000 equity raised from friends, relatives and Brompton owners launched the company properly in 1986,
and he eventually secured £100,000 to set up a better-equipped factory under a
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has dive ...
railway arch in 1987. It had taken five years to secure the capital.
Volume production was difficult and demand outstripped the factory's capacity, so it expanded into a second railway arch in 1994 and again in 1998 into the
Chiswick
Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...
premises it occupied until moving to
Greenford in 2016.
Later life
Ritchie has recruited new management since the early 2000s, including
Will Butler-Adams who became managing director and, with new investors, purchased half of Ritchie's 50% shareholding.
Ritchie acknowledges that Brompton has been his life.
References
External links
The Brits Who Designed the Modern WorldArtsnight - Series 4: 7, BBC Two
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritchie, Andrew
1947 births
English businesspeople
Brompton bicycle
Living people
British cycle designers
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge