A North Staffordshire bike brand which has been backed by Olympic legend Sir Jason Kenny has raised more than £210,000 in just 24 hours.
Earlier this month, BusinessLive reported how Sir Jason - who is the most decorated Olympic cyclist ever - joined forces with REAP Bikes to launch a £300,000 crowdfunding campaign to help expand the Newcastle-under-Lyme business.
And just 24 hours after going live to the public, the campaign reached more than 70 per cent of its target after 45 contributors invested £214,000.
One of the first people to invest was Sir Jason, who shares REAP's vision of creating the world's fastest bikes.
He said: "As soon as I got my hands on the REAP bikes, I knew I was on to something really special.
"Together we will push the boundaries of high-end bicycle development and use this knowledge to supply ultra-high performing bikes to a wider audience."
Having designed three high performance bikes since its inception in 2016, the crowdfunding will support REAP with an expansion of its manufacturing capabilities and marketing across Europe. The company is targeting revenues of £12 million by 2026.
Founder of REAP Bikes, Martin Meir, said: "We have gathered a team of experts who've been refining three frames for the road, triathlon and track.
"Rather than following the crowd, we started from scratch, questioning every detail to find the best solutions for speed, comfort and road safety.
"And it worked, our Gen 1.0 model was named the world's fastest bike in its launch season when it was tested against market leaders."
Martin added: "It's amazing to see so many share our vision, invest and now join us in our journey in celebrating quality British bike manufacturing.
"We believe precision engineered, quality, British engineered, performance bikes will really resonate with riders across the UK as longstanding and new riders to the sport look to new technologies to find the best in speed and comfort."
