The question of who built Anquetil-branded bikes comes up time and again in conversations among collectors. The answer is that there were probably more manufacturers of Anquetil frames than of any other brand, including Merckx.
In France I can count four manufacturers, not including three frame-builders who built his personal frames They are, not in any particular chronological order, France-Loire, Cizeron, Jeunet, and Gitane. The first two companies specialised in bikes carrying the names of well-known riders such as Anquetil, Geminiani, Louison Bobet, Poulidor and Bernard Thevenet...and MOSER. Gitane only used Anquetil's name from about the 70s onwards, and only for sports-type bikes, nothing too serious. The same bikes could just as well have left the factory carrying the names of Raymond Delisle or Cyrille Guimard.
I think that at least one manufacturer and several frame-builders have built the UK Anquetils, particularly the custom ones of riders such as Beryl Burton's and the ones suppllied to pro riders such as the Trumans Steel - Jacques Anquetil team from the 60s, riders such as Wes Mason,, Goz Goodman, Pete Gordon and George Hall. This team lasted only one year, 1967, with most of the riders going on to be sponsored by Carlton Cycles. This info would probably bear out Hugh's statement that it was Carlton who built the better Anquetil models made in the UK. By this time Kitching was a major supplier of frame building parts to the UK lightweight industry, and many of these parts, such as the steeply raked Milremo Super Corsa fork internal aero crown and the same pattern of Bocama lugs, can be seen on frames in the Carlton range. I seem to remember Wes telling me that he worked for Carlton, as well as being a member of their Pro team...as did Arthur Metcalfe
On first sight of the bike for sale on Ebay, I thought that it was of French manufacture, as it resembles closely a French-built frame in my collection. However on closer inspection is has all the hallmarks of a British-built Anquetil that I have eg the lugs are Bocama Sport BBA/250 type, pattern 12, the drop-outs are Zeus Gran Sport, and the fork crown is a Wagner - all components straight out of the Kitching catalogue.
It is highly unlikely that Kitching would have arranged for this selection of components and the Reynolds tubing to be shipped to France for brazing up, as he was quite tight with his money. Additionally the French-built frames used a much better quality of Bocama lugset, and as Bocama's factory was only a thirty minute drive from St Etienne where all the French manufacturers of Anquetil bikes were based, it would be a nonesense for Kitching to have boxes of these cheaper lugs shipped into France. Instead being an importer he would just have imported the French-built bikes.
The Ebay bike does however appear to fall out of the standard pattern for UK-produced frames in that the frame is built of Reynolds 531 DB tubing, but is finished in red flam enamel. According to the Anquetil catalogue for the late60s and early 70s, only the base model of the JA range, the Normandy model was finished in this colour. Reynolds was only used for the higher range models such as the Grand Prix des Nations, the Maillot Jaune replica, and the Pista model. The two top road frames were finished in Riviera Blue and Anquetil violet respectively.
Having made that correction I have to admit that my own UK-built Anquetil is the Grand Pris des Nations model, but it is finished in Anquetil violet and not Riviera blue ! If this frame of mine is representative of the standard of the frames assumed to have been built by Carlton, then I can only assume that Kitching negotiated a special low cost building deal. The finish of the lugs and crown on my frame is dreadful..and the clearances for the wheels on a frame that is supposed to be a time-trial machine are inexplicable. I can even get a pair of guards(fenders) on the frame when it has 27 inch wheels, not 700s in place. Choosing a suitable brake is difficult..but MAFAC racers can be made to do the job.
I had concluded that my frame was one built by one of the several frame-builders, some of them on casual contracts, who built from time to time for Kitching, including a little-known builder from Leeds and another one from Keighley.
In response to Dale's point about MKM's involvement in the Anquetil saga, I note that Ron Kitching had his own trade team from about 1973, about the time of his involvement with Wes Mason and Arthur Metcalfe, and that the riders used Ron Kitching branded bikes.
As for Beryl Burton whom I met on several occasions, but did not know very well, I understood from Charlie her husband that Ron Kitching sponsored her, and supplied her with her bikes. Apparently there was some quasi legal problem that would have arisen if she had been a paid Pro rider. Ron was a very shrewd operator and would not have let a rider such as Beryl slip through the net and ride for any other cycle manufacturer such as Bob Jackson...who was just as shrewd a business man..so there must have been some incentive for Beryl to ride under Ron's various banners. Ron deveotes very few pages in his autobiography to his link with Beryl, but he does state that she occasionally used to help out at his warehouse and used to call in from time to time to get whatever parts she needed..
There is a possibility that Wes Mason, a member of the CR List might just be reading this thread..so who knows, we might get something a little more definitive from him