The company is aiming to increase its retail space and workshop by a fourfold, after more than doubling its sales during the coronavirus pandemic. 

The firm has said its new premises will be the largest specialist e-bike store in the UK.

The move is due to begin next week and will take around six weeks to complete. The new shop, which the firm hopes to open in early September, is located about half a mile from ECC’s current store on Granton Road.

The new premises is to be carbon-neutral fully equipped with solar panels on the roof and battery banks to power lighting and bike charging. The shop’s heating will be produced by a biomass boiler powered by the waste packaging the business creates.

The Electric Cycle Company hopes its customers will be keen to ‘pay forward’ into the crowdfunding campaign in return for future discounts on e-bike products, accessories and services, The Insider reports.

Neill Hope, managing director, said: “We’ve always been the largest e-bike specialist in Scotland, continuously at the forefront of the industry. My dad started the Electric Cycle Company in 2006. I took over 10 years ago and moved it into proper retail premises on Granton Road.

“Since then we have seen our turnover increase year on year, by as much as 500% over this period.  Our staff numbers have increased from two to 10 and we now have the widest range of electric bikes in Scotland.

“This is something I could never have imagined when my family started the business from the back of my Dad’s office, as an offshoot from his plastering company. We also have the added benefit of being backed by the North Edinburgh Community.

“Since the start of the COVID-19 lockdown there has been a revolution in cycling and our sales have increased by more than 100%, as compared with the same period in 2019. With such a high demand for e-bike sales and maintenance, the Granton Road bike shop and workshop are just too small to operate as safely and efficiently as we want. Our move can’t come quick enough.”