London looking for a new sponsor to stump up £37.5m for Boris bikes

For £37.5m you get the right to name the scheme and change the colour and branding on more than 10,000 bikes used for short journeys in London. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

Transport for London (TfL) is looking for a company to pay at least £37.5m to sponsor its cycle hire scheme after Barclays ends its support after five years.

TfL is seeking £5.5m or more annually over seven years for the right to name the scheme and change the colour and branding on more than 10,000 bikes used for short journeys in the capital.

The sponsor's brand would also go on vehicles, docking points, pay terminals and staff uniforms for the scheme, which has so far notched up over 30m journeys.

Barclays agreed to pay £5m annually to be the first sponsor for five years when it launched in July 2010. The bank's new management has decided not to extend its sponsorship beyond next summer.

TfL said it hoped to have a new sponsor in place by early 2015.

London mayor's, Boris Johnson, said: "This is a unique opportunity for a commercial partner to put their stamp on a mode of London transport that is now as recognisable as our iconic black cabs and red buses. We are looking for a sponsor whose aspiration matches our own, one with the passion to take the scheme to the next level and get even more people pedalling."

Barclays said six months ago that it would cancel its sponsorship of the bikes as part of a review of its marketing spending. The original deal was agreed between the bank and Johnson, who had close links to its then chief executive, Bob Diamond.

Barclays sponsorship was contentious from the start because there no formal tendering process. The London assembly's budget committee questioned whether Barclays had paid enough for the right to have its brand seen across London.

However, though the service is officially called Barclays Cycle Hire most Londoners refer to the cycles as Boris Bikes after the capital's cycling mayor.

Barclays' unused three-year option to extend its sponsorship would have cost the bank an annual £8.3m. TfL said £5.5m a year was the minimum it was asking for the new deal and that it hoped to get more because several companies had expressed an interest.