[6] The Brompton folding bicycle and accessories are the company's core product, noted for its self-supporting compact size when stored.

The modular design has remained fundamentally unchanged since the original patent was filed by Andrew Ritchie in 1979,[7] with small details being refined by continual improvement.

In 1976 Andrew Ritchie founded the company, named after the Brompton Oratory,[3] a landmark visible from his bedroom workshop where the first prototypes were built.

With a bank loan underwritten by Julian Vereker (founder of Naim Audio), production was restarted in a railway arch in Brentford.

[5] In March 2009, Brompton Bicycle achieved a record monthly turnover of just under £1 million; the employees were rewarded with fish and chips.

Brompton Bicycle in the United Kingdom would loan tools and drawings, and be paid on a per-unit royalty basis.

By this time, five senior Neobike employees had been convicted and jailed for stealing trade secrets from Dahon and Ritchie had previously stated that the franchise contract had been "under review",[26] there having been quality issues with the Asian-built Brompton bicycles.

[30] Later, Neobike's interests in its copy-bicycle business were transferred to an entity called Grace Gallant Enterprises,[28] for sale under the brand "Flamingo".

Between 2004 and 2010, several batches of copies were imported into the European market: into the United Kingdom under the name "Merc", into Belgium, and into Spain as the "Nishiki Oxford".

As of 2014, Grace-Galant continue to make clones for the East Asia market under the Flamingo and MIT brand names.

[32] The Brompton Bicycle Limited v Rijwielbedrijf Vincent Van Ellen BV ruling held that there was creative flexibility in the design for a bicycle beyond those choices made purely for functional reasons; in the Brompton case this included the M-style handlebars, curved main frame tube and the cable-placement.

[32] Each of these were noted to be distinctive design decisions that another manufacturer could change without compromising the ability to create a functional folding bicycle.

The case was decided on the basis that Grace Gallant predecessors' had not returned all of Brompton Bicycle Ltd's drawing and toolings upon the termination of the earlier Eurotai/Neobike franchise agreement.