Depends what hes planning to use it for.
If its for Racing (hes a roadie so he may well be!) then I’d be looking at an anthem, a spark or something with no more than 120mm travel at the back. Anthem frames can be had for 700 quid, so you could get a really really nice custom build for that kind of budget. Use to have an anthem, loved it. I hear they ride quite well in SX flavour as well, so maybe a bit more vesatile.
For general riding I’d suggest the Trance. For 2.5k you’ll get last years top of the range model I would imagine. Last year I picked up the Trance 1 with Carbon wheels for around 1800
Never been to the lakes so no idea what the riding is like round there, however for anything other than the Alps and pure downhill runs I always felt having a big 160mm ‘enduro’ bike not really worth it.
Obviously I’m a mincer, but then again I’m assuming your roadie mate probably doesn’t have Danny Hart skills either.
Either way the German mailorder brands are fantastic value on the face of it (i’ve had 2 canyons, great bikes, nothing against them) but they are rarely reduced, so shop around and you can probably find a discounted model of a mainstream brand for similar value.
