I could have kept schtum but it wouldnt have taken him too long to track down such information so I gave him a few sites, including ones from IBDs. He is off to check the ACT site, the one from CoBR as well as bidabike.com, bicyclenet.co.uk and bikeshop.co.uk (Avon Valley Cycles). I gave the ACT and CoBR sites so he can get the full SP on why its wise to buy from an independent bike dealer.
He will probably only feature the sites with the cheapest bikes on board, but hey, I tried to coax him in a good direction.