Whats news
Please click on the links below to take you to the latest news stories.
HMRC release their Cycle to Work end of scheme transfer guidance
6 Aug 2010
On Friday 6th August 2010 HM Revenues and Customs released guidance notes on how to treat the transfer of ownership and the value of the bike at the end of a Cycle to Work scheme. Please see the HMRC website.
Halfords is in the process of contacting all clients to share this information and assist you to implement this process. If you are about to enter this phase of your scheme and as yet have not been contacted by Halfords, please feel free to contact us direct.
10 Years of Cycle to Work
1 May 2010
The Cycle to Work scheme, the Government programme celebrates its 10 year anniversary this month. Over the past decade more than 400,000 people from 25,000 companies have taken advantage of the scheme. And the numbers keep rising. Halfords announced a 50 percent increase in people joing its Cycle2work scheme over the last year.
Keith Scott, Head of Business Services at Halfords, the UK's largest Cycle to Work provider, said: "The Cycle to Work scheme provides the added incentive many employees need to incorporate cycling into their commute. There are so many benefits to cycling that include health and fitness and travel cost savings. The significant Cycle to Work tax breakmeans there is no excuse not to get on your bike."
Extract from Cycle active May 2010
Boardman to sell women-specific range
26 Mar 2010
Boardman are to introduce a range of women-specific fi (female informed) bikes which include a carbon road model, 100mm travel hardtail mountain bike and a flat bar commuter.
Available from Halfords in May 2010, the Boardman fi frames use women's specific geometry and use “cutting edge materials and components [to give] you a bike which feels natural to ride, is comfortable and offers excellent performance at every level,” according to Chris Boardman MBE."
To view the complete article Bikeradar
To view the Boardman fi range Boardman fi
Halfords named as Title Sponsor for The Tour Series
3 Mar 2010
Britain’s leading cycling retailer gets behind successful city centre racing series. Organisers of The Tour Series, SweetSpot, announce Title Sponsor, Halfords.
The Halfords Tour Series will take place from 25th May to the 24th June in 2010 across ten cities and will see ten top British professional teams battling it out to be crowned the best cycling team in the country.
The partnership sees the leading cycle retailer aligning itself with the UK’s most exciting racing series, and the community cycling festival integral to each round of The Tour Series.
Paul McClenaghan, Halfords Commercial Director, said: “As the UK’s leading cycle retailer, Halfords is keen to bring the thrill of cycle racing to a wider audience. The Halfords Tour Series will help give cycle enthusiasts, families and young aspiring Bradley Wiggins’ alike inspiration to get on their bikes. This is also a great opportunity to showcase the passion and expertise of our in store colleagues who build and service around half a million bikes a year including the award winning Boardman Road Pro.”
SweetSpot Commercial Manager, Alastair Grant said: “Halfords are the natural partner for this dynamic, exciting cycle race series. Halfords partnership with The Tour Series will allow us to do even more to promote the sport to new audiences going forward, helping our team and venue stakeholders to engage with the thousands of spectators and the hundreds of schools across the country who attend these exciting events. By bringing elite races ‘back to the people’ in televised, midweek slots, we can also engage people across the country with Britain’s best Olympic sport.”
Find out more about the Halfords Tour Series by following this link.
Government scheme will aid cycling
15 Sep 2009
Currently 15 per cent of all UK bike sales are through the Cycle to Work, a scheme that has seen a 50% rise in just 12 months. Halfords forsee today's Government announcement will accelerate this trend as they move to persuade more firms to provide better facilities for cyclists.
The retailer, which sells one in three cycles in the UK, set the Cycle2work model for the market in 2002 and now communicates the idea of cycling to work to over five million UK employees nationwide ever year, including Royal Bank of Scotland, as well as, Cadburys, Microsoft, Lloyds TSB, to name but a few.
Carl James, Cycle2Work Business Services Manager said: "Increased tax on company cars and cities introducing restrictions on parking and congestion charges as well as Team GB's heroics in Beijing have helped persuade more people than ever to swap their car keys or travel cards for a bike – and save themselves hundreds of pounds a year".
Get on your bike for world car free day
28 Oct 2009
Avoid the fuel crisis, traffic jams, save money, and get healthy by walking, cycling, or taking public transport on World Car Free Day.
On Tuesday 22nd September 2009, the annual World Car Free Day will celebrate cities free from the stresses of noise and car pollution. Traffic speed in 30 cities across Europe was surveyed during a four months period from June to September 2007 and highlighted London as Europe's slowest city.[1] With the average cyclist comfortably travelling in excess of 10 miles per hour – you could save precious time in the mornings and avoid the stresses simply by getting on your bike.
Cleaner, greener, often faster and more cost effective than any other form of transport, Halfords pioneering Cycle2Work programme promotes healthier journeys to work, reduces environmental pollution and cuts out having to struggle to park, and then pay a fortune for the privilege. Not only does the scheme offer a healthier lifestyle choice, and reduce harm to the environment, but it also makes cycling more affordable with all participants saving on tax and NI when they use a bike to commute to work.
Halfords communicates the idea of cycling to work to over two million UK employees nationwide including Royal Bank of Scotland, as well as, Cadburys, Microsoft, Lloyds TSB, to name but a few.
Halfords Cycle2Work Business Manager, Carl James comments, "Halfords Cycle2Work has proved popular with employers and employees across the UK, and has already helped large numbers of workers nationwide get out and about on two wheels. There are so many benefits to cycling both in terms of enjoyment and health, and the added financial incentive means there is no excuse not to get on your bike!
Halfords sells more than 1 million bikes a year as consumers switch to pedal power to beat the recession
16 Apr 2009
Halfords, the UK's leading automotive and leisure products retailer, announces it sold more than 1 million bicycles in the year to end March for the second consecutive year. Once again Halfords sold more than one in three of all new bikes in the UK.
This performance is thanks partly to a surge in sales to commuters who, in particular, are taking advantage of Government backed incentive schemes and taking their journey to work by bike. Sales, across the country, through the Government's increasingly popular Cycle2Work scheme, rose by almost 50% to 34,000 in 2008/9, in sharp contrast to new car sales, which fell 11% in 2008.*
Cycle2Work enables employees to buy a bike tax free in 12 monthly instalments, provided they use it for their travel to work. Halfords has now sold more than 80,000 Cycle2Work bikes since the scheme was introduced in 2005.
As part of its commitment to cycling, Halfords is today announcing that it plans to integrate the wider ranges in its standalone Bikehut stores into its main superstores, ensuring that customers have access to the fullest possible selection of products.
David Wild, Halfords' Chief Executive, commented: "We are delighted with the strength of our bike sales in these tough times on the high street and our customer feedback suggests that many of them are cycling for the significant economic, environmental and health benefits. The tax benefits of the Cycle2Work scheme means that customers are able to buy higher specification bikes and we have been particularly pleased with sales of our award winning Boardman bike range, designed in partnership with Olympic champion Chris Boardman MBE.
"It was a great achievement when one of Halfords' Boardman bikes was ridden to Olympic victory by Nicole Cooke in Beijing last year and sales of the Boardman range are now exceeding established premium brands. We remain committed to supporting cycling through our partnership with British Cycling in 2009 and the sponsorship of the road race Premier Calendar series. We are also in our second year of pro team sponsorship supporting many aspiring 2012 cyclists. Cycling is undergoing a renaissance in Britain thanks in no small part to Team GB's outstanding Olympic success and we are delighted to be part of it."
