Yorkshire carpet and flooring retailer, Floorstore Group, has secured £2.1m funding from NatWest bank.
The funding will enable the family-owned business, which was founded in 1961 and formerly known as Jim’s Carpets, to open a new 13,000sqft showroom in Cross Gates, Leeds, supporting its expansion plans.
The retailer, which employs 52 staff across seven outlets in Leeds, Wakefield and Harrogate, has created four new roles in its warehouse, accounts and digital teams following the investment.
The finance deal and new site will also enable the Floorstore Group to build on its green commitments. The company, which already recycles old and new carpets and flooring as well as the materials used in the packaging process, plans to install solar panels to further reduce the carbon footprint of the businesses. Electric vehicle charging points for customers and the public will also be installed.
Steve Walker, managing director at Floorstore Group, said: “We’ve long been keen to grow our offering to give our customers more choice of carpets and flooring and our new store will allow us to do just that, bringing our high-quality products to new customers, while also serving to complement our online retail offer and meet our future ambitions for growth.
“The business has banked with NatWest for more than 40 years and we’ve always had an exceptional relationship over the years, with the bank supporting us at every stage of our journey. Everything about securing the finance package has been really easy and it’s been a smooth process all the way through.”
Mark Forsyth, relationship director at NatWest, said: “We are delighted to support Floorstore Group with a flexible finance package that has allowed them to buy and open new trading premises. The new premises will increase the company’s presence in the flooring market, as well as create employment for local people.
“It’s been fantastic to work closely with Steve and the team to provide them with financing that suits their needs and will help take the business on to the next stage of their growth journey.”
