More than a club and more than a bike shop: our objective is to be a ‘club of clubs’. A hub selling an increasing range of actual and digital services into the full community of road cyclists across the UK. Our focus is on offering an increasing range of services to help riders to get more from their cycling experience. We offer bike fitting, bike sales, workshop services, fitness testing, cycle coaching, indoor cycling on Wattbikes, yoga and pilates, custom footbeds, sports therapy, hypoxic training and virtual reality turbo training, all under one roof.
As one of London’s busiest cyclists’ cafes we are open 7 days a week including late nights. Cadence acts as a social hub for cyclists in South East London where we host regular cycling related events, sell and service bikes and run cycling events for corporate clients. Clients access services on a ‘pay as you go’ basis or with a monthly subscription. As well as walk-in customers, we currently have 221 clients who pay a monthly subscription to use our facilities.
Our ultimate objective is to become the first series of commercial cycling hubs offering all the advantages of the best clubs, with an increasing range of actual and digital services in the UK and overseas: more than a club and more than a shop. We now want to realise our ambition to open more locations and expand our membership to become one of the largest, if not the largest, part of the cycling community in the UK.
COMPANY HISTORY
Cadence was established in 2012 as a ‘pop-up’ by Frank Beechinor and Ray Vella. Both keen cyclists, Ray and Frank were frustrated by the absence of places where cyclists could convene in a welcoming environment, and at the same time, access services to help them with their cycling. This formed the basis of the idea for Cadence.
The business was established in an old car showroom in Crystal Palace located on one of the main cycling routes from South East London to the Kent lanes. The building was occupied on a short term agreement and start-up capital was invested by Frank and Ray. Further funds were later invested by three friends who saw the potential in the concept.
In the early days we offered just a cafe, workshop, bike fitting and turbo training. Initially few cyclists chose to venture inside but over the following months footfall gradually increased, and Cadence developed a reputation as somewhere for cyclists to meet before or after a ride.
Through 2012/13 our reputation grew, our bike fitting and workshop business expanded, we added fitness testing services and began to organise events for our customers. The building occupancy was converted to a full lease around then.
In the autumn of 2013 we raised additional equity from other friends and business contacts to enhance the facilities at Crystal Palace. The refurbishment took place over the Christmas period 2013-14 and involved stripping the building back to its shell, installing a mezzanine floor and refurbishing the interior of the building. The increased floor area allowed us to install a Wattbike studio and Yoga/Pilates room and Cadence fully re-opened in March 2014. Since then our business has grown significantly.
PROGRESS TO DATE