Bedale interiors wholesaler creates 10 new jobs following £700k expansion

Bedale family business Hill Interiors has completed a new extension to its 100,000sq ft head office and warehouse in Oaktree, Burneston.

This latest investment was supported by a grant from UKTI for £100k and has created 10 new jobs at its Bedale headquarters which now has a staff of 40.

Hill Interiors was advised by Martin Grange and Alison Batty of Clarion’s property team.

Founded in 1975 by Graham and Joan Hill, the business is an importer and distributor of furniture, gifts and interiors accessories to interiors shops, garden centres and online traders.

Their son, Nik, joined the business in the late 80’s and has helped to build Hill interiors into a chain of ten retail outlets across the north of England under the Baytree Interiors brand.

Hill Interiors is on target to reach a turnover of more than £7.5m this year and now employs over 100 staff.

Nik Hill, managing director, said: “This year we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the business and we’re proud that 2015 also saw another major investment in our warehouse as well as our staff headcount passing the 100 figure milestone and the continued expansion of our retail outlets with three new shops in Ilkley, Middlesbrough and the Metrocentre.

“Having built a business based on our ability to source unusual products direct from suppliers in the Far East at competitive prices, we have taken this concept a stage further by developing our own retail offering.

“Already, retail accounts for about a quarter of our business and we believe it has huge potential – we have seen 26% growth year on year in retail and we are actively looking for new sites with plans to open a further six shops by the end of 2016. We have also seen significant growth in our online business which we expect to contribute £700,000 to our turnover this year, bringing total revenue from retail to over £2.2m.”

Baytree also has outlets in Knaresborough, Harrogate, Northallerton, Halifax, York and two in Whitby.

Leeds law firm Clarion has worked with Hill Interiors for the last three years, providing legal advice around the acquisition of new retail units and property transactions as well as debt recovery services.

Nik added: “Martin Grange and the team at Clarion have been a fantastic support in all our property dealings – they’re so friendly and easy to deal with, there’s always someone at the end of the phone whenever I want some advice. I love the fact that they’re accessible, enthusiastic and see their role as being quick problem solvers -they’re great people to do business with and have made it possible for us to build our retail outlets so quickly.”

Martin Grange, partner and head of Clarion’s property team, also commented: “It’s really satisfying to work with a well-established Yorkshire business which has the vision to use its expertise to explore the market in a different way. Hill Interiors has made significant investments in expanding its premises and growing its team in order to support its ambitious plans to build a 15-strong retail chain by the end of next year. Despite a tough market, they have proved that it is still possible to grow a flourishing retail offering on the high street.”

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