Bicycle rental platform Mobike has had a hugely successful 2017 so far, with two multimillion-dollar funding rounds as well as expansion out of its native China into Southeast Asia and, most recently, Europe.

Mobike, which was set up at the end of December 2015, currently has a presence in almost 100 Chinese cities, having started out in Shanghai and Beijing. The firm provides a network of bikes that riders can access for short “last mile” journeys by scanning a code on the bicycle using the Mobike app.

Unlike some city-based bike rental schemes, Mobikes do not have a docking station they must be returned to. Instead, they have a…