Scotland-based Shand Cycles has been bought by an Indian tycoon who has pledged to rejuvenate the UK bicycle manufacturing industry.

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London-based Sanjeev Gupta, whose Liberty House metals group bought Warwickshire-based Trillion Cycles last year, believes the new acquisition will strengthen its presence in the market. We brought you news last month that the Scottish company Shand were teaming up with Trillion Cycles, an outfit owned by the Liberty Group. We also took a look at the new Tam, an expedition bike from Shand and the hardcore hardtail, the Prime from Trillion Cycles, links below:

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The news that Liberty has bought the Scottish business underlines there was more to that collaboration than there seemed to be at the time. Commenting on the acquisition Gupta, whose first job during his gap year in 1990 was selling Victor bikes made by his family’s business to the international market, said: “We’re very excited to welcome Shand into the Liberty family of companies. We recognise the skill and quality they bring to bike production and feel they will work very well with the Trillion team and engineers and designers in our vehicle technologies division at Leamington Spa. Liberty is developing a solid base upon which to build a significant bike manufacturing business, offering high quality and attractive machines to all parts of the market."

“We’re also pleased to expand further our investment in the Scottish economy where we already have major energy generation and metal manufacturing operations,” he added.

Shand Cycles founder Steven Shand will remain with the business.

He said: “This is an exciting new phase in the development of the business. Together as part of the Liberty Group I believe Trillion and ourselves can do some ground-breaking things in the cycle market.

“The link up also allows us to develop some very valuable extra manufacturing capacity.”

Trillion’s product and customer service manager, Russell Cashmore, commented: “We have an awful lot of engineering expertise at our finger tips through being part of Liberty Vehicle Technologies who, among other things, supply braking systems and mechatronics to Formula 1.

“Combining that with the knowledge of the team at Shand is a great prospect.

“We’re keen to use this combination to do something unique in the market. Our overall goal is to help further encourage the revival of frame production in this country.”