Brompton sells stakes to Decathlon and Chinese Labubu backer

The French sports gear retailer Decathlon and a Chinese investment group that was an early backer of Labubu soft toys have bought stakes in the British folding bike maker Brompton, as its boss said the cycling market was recovering from a slump in sales. Decathlon has acquired a 10% stake in the manufacturer while BA Capital has bought 5% in a deal understood to collectively be worth about £18m. Brompton said the new investments would enable staff, including the chief executive, Will Butler-Adams , and long-term investors to realise some cash from the sale of shares, while also bringing in market knowledge, supply chain efficiency and technology from the brand’s new investors. “We are in this partnership to learn,” Butler-Adams said of the new deal with Decathlon Pulse, the chain’s investment arm which has previously backed brands including the bike computer maker Magene and sports watch Coros. He said BA Capital, which also holds a stake in the bicycle brand Tenways as well as Labubu maker Pop Mart, would bring expertise on China, which is now Brompton’s biggest market. Franck Vigo, the chief executive of Decathlon Pulse, said: “What convinced us goes beyond the product: we share the same values, a strong culture of quality, and a long-term vision of sustainable urban mobility. …