Brompton’s global headquarters plans for Ashford move a step closer

Posted on 16 January 2025

The new £100 million global headquarters and new factory for Brompton Bicycles located in Ashford has moved a step closer after councillors approved outline proposals.

Ashford Borough Council’s planning committee voted last night to grant outline permission for the ambitious and innovative scheme which will support Brompton to relocate to Ashford. It will now be up to Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to decide whether to call in the outline application for further consideration.

Brompton's headquarters could be and look revolutionary
How Brompton's headquarters could look inside

“We looked at Manchester, Birmingham and right across the UK, but Ashford stood head and shoulders above the rest”

Will Butler-Adams OBE FRGS, CEO of Brompton Bicycles

Ashford Borough Council has worked with Brompton and Locate in Kent to identify a suitable site in Ashford, strategically located between the leading cycling cities of London and Paris. The chosen site near the McArthurGlen Ashford Designer Outlet and Ashford International rail station was officially unveiled in February 2022.

The project, hailed as the ‘revolutionary bicycle factory of the future, would house a world-class production facility and become Brompton’s global headquarters, supporting around 4,000 jobs locally, including the supply chain. It would eventually replace Brompton’s existing factory in Greenford, West London. Will Butler-Adams, CEO of Brompton Bicycles, told the committee that, after moving factories five times in 50 years of existence, the manufacturer is keen to find its “real home” for decades to come.

The Brompton factory could be a revolutionary building with cycle paths leading up to the factory on stilts
How the Brompton factory could look

Mr Butler-Adams explained that Ashford’s ambition, support and can-do attitude ultimately swayed the decision to choose the Kent site over other areas.

Built on stilts, the new facility would overlook a new 60-acre rewilded public nature wetland reserve with a community cycle path and a network of trails, delivering a net gain in biodiversity across the site. The proposals, designed by renowned Kent-based architect Guy Hollaway, would deliver a £100 million investment into the local economy. In the two years since Brompton first announced its plans, the company has been working with East Kent College Group (Ashford College) and Kent’s universities on projects to develop a local highly skilled workforce for generations to come.