Mens bicycle help please

[GinYummy]

Hi I am hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction in finding a new bike for dh.
He has recently started cycling to work a few times a week to lose weight and is doing brilliantly. He has lost a stone in under a month and more than that, he is enjoying exercising!
His bike has seen better days, it was a a cheap argos sale mountain bike that he bought over ten years ago and I think he woudl love a new one for his birthday soon.
I however have no idea what to buy.

Is there anything i need to consider or any recomendations?

Buy him a smashing lunch near a great bike shop where you can hand him your credit card with your blessings. He needs to try the bikes out, really, before purchase, to get a good one.

Evans is reasonable, among the chains.

Get to a cycle shop! Specialised or Evans are a good start. He needs to be measured properly ideally.

In my pretty extensive experience of bike shops, you are likely to get better customer service, more knowledgeable staff and better after sales care in a local independent bike shop than a chain (even Evans, who still primarily seem employ people to sell rather than experienced cyclists who can advise).

Can he get a bike via the "bike to work scheme"? You stand to save a lot if he does. You could give him a bike accessory and an "IOU" for his birthday.

If you let us know roughly where you are, maybe someone could recommend a bike shop?

Thank you everyone for the advice. I am near Bristol.
Great idea with the accessory and IOU bike

Get yourselves to Mud Dock - a bike shop with a really good cafe attached. Perfect! (and they do the Bike to Work Scheme if that's a consideration).

He needs to be fitted for a bike in the shop, what looks good might not fit right. Try sitting on a few yourself and see how they differ.

Also have you considered the cycle scheme that you can get through work? You can save 20%

Now is a good time to also ask for last year's models, as they will be cheaper than this year's new models - make sure you ask.