LONDON, May 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

A South London online retail start-up is riding high on the crest of the post-Olympic sports boom. In a little over 18 months it has brought half a million sports enthusiasts together, as members of its site, reflecting a renewed love affair with sport in the UK.

SportPursuit is providing these people with outstanding value on quality sports goods through its innovative flash sales model. These half million members have access to weeklong deals on a vast range of premium sports brands, encompassing famous brands such as Berghaus, Go-Pro and Under Armour as well as many that are relatively unknown in the UK. The core offering is based around outdoor sports; chiefly running, cycling, skiing and hiking.

Prices on the site are typically 30-70% off retail allowing people to get the kit they want, at prices they can't get elsewhere. In doing so, SportPursuit are lowering barriers to entry and promoting trial of new sports that might otherwise have been inaccessible.

Since the end of the London Games, SportPursuit have added 400,000 members - quintupling the member base.  That is enough people to fill the Olympic Stadium 5 times over. This backs up the latest Sport England figures which suggest that the number of adults playing sport at least once a week had increased by 750,000 in the past year.

SportPursuit is growing rapidly and now employs 38 people from its office in South London. CEO Adam Pikett commented 'The growth of the business has been extremely exciting and we are very proud of what the team have achieved so far. Every day SportPursuit helps thousands of our members to discover great new brands whilst providing compelling deals on their existing favourites. We love that people inspired by the Olympics are finding the kit they need through SportPursuit.'

The biggest buzzword from last summer's games was legacy. An easy word to say but not necessarily so easy to see how the legacy might manifest itself. In SportPursuit we have a clear and easy to comprehend example of this legacy in action. Here is a company succeeding on the back of increased participation, providing a compelling service for its community of members. All of these 500,000 people will have been inspired in their own way by London 2012 and have found a retailer to help fuel their passion, without breaking the bank. This whole process benefits both the individuals, the business, the economy and sport in the UK.  

Notes for Editors - SportPursuit is one word, no spaces, Upper case first S and P.

SportPursuit (http://www.sportpursuit.com)is a modern online sports retailer. Founded in August 2011 the company is the UK's first members-only sports private sales website. It offers its members access to weeklong flash sales on a huge variety of quality sports brands. The company's mission is to inspire more people to do more of the sport they love, by giving them access to kit they will love. Membership of the site is free and prices in the flash sales are typically 70-30% off RRP. The core offering is based around outdoor sports; mainly running, cycling, snowsports, hiking and triathlon.SportPursuit aims to inspire its members through supplying them with handpicked ranges of quality sports products at unbeatable prices.

Membership of the site has grown to over 500,000 with most of that growth happening since the London2012 Olympics. The company now employs 38 people from its office in Clapham, South London.

SOURCE SportPursuit Ltd.