Business is booming for a South Lakeland firm which has overcome its chequered history and is now on the road to further growth.

Wheelbase has seen two changes of ownership and faced some troubled times, but the Staveley bike specialist is now celebrating ten years of trading and looking to the future with confidence.

Manager Chris Herd helped to steer the business back into the black after he joined five years ago, and he puts the secret of the firm's success down to its committed workforce.

"We employ people who are enthusiastic about the product and I think customers can see that. It's a specialist store and they are buying from people who know what they're talking about," he told Business Gazette.

That know-how extends to the firm's successful race team, featuring members of staff, who have covered themselves in glory at a number of events, including a 110-mile ride around the area's lakes and peaks, said to be one of the country's toughest races.

But the Wheelbase store, based at Staveley's ever-growing Mill Yard business park, does not only cater for dedicated cycling enthusiasts.

The two storey, 16,000 sq ft showroom caters for all ages and tastes, with separate sections for road bikes, children's bikes and mountain bikes.

More recently, Wheelbase branched out by selling snowboarding and skateboarding equipment.

Mr Herd says the business has benefited from a growing interest in cycling, partly sparked by the phenomenal success of five-times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.

"He is an inspiration to everyone," he said.

Today, the business is owned by a company called Concept, which manufactures bikes in Bangladesh and the Far East and supplies big-name multiples such as JJB Sports, Asda and Motorworld, but Wheelbase operates as an independent, stand-alone firm.

The business, which employs 18 staff, sells between 1,500 and 2,000 bikes a year, and is looking to expand through its website.

It has already enjoyed sales growth on the worldwide web through the Ebay website, which Mr Herd said had proved "hugely successful."

To mark its 10th anniversary, Wheelbase is staging a weekend of celebrations, starting on Friday, June 11, with a family treasure hunt.

The firm's seven bike suppliers will all give demonstrations throughout Saturday and Sunday, June 12-13, while a number of bands are lined up to play on the Saturday.