Hughes Trade, the B2B arm of retail chain Hughes Electrical, has said sales for the year hit £20 million – a record, as it looks to add new branches to its existing real estate.
Hughes Trade general manager Paul Chisnall said particularly large growth in the firm’s business rental services helped to push annual sales up by 23 per cent to a record high, as he announced the relocation of its Cambridge premises to a larger site on the outskirts of Huntingdon.
The new branch, situated off junction 23 on the A14 at Stukeley Meadows Industrial Estate, will carry a much larger range of stock than previously and is managed by Grentham Rush.
Mr Chisnall said: “We simply outgrew our Cambridge facility and needed more space. The new branch is in an ideal location on the Stukeley Meadows Industrial Estate, right by the A14.
“Our vans will be able to deliver to customers in Huntingdon, Cambridge, Kettering, Bedford, Newmarket, Wellingborough, Corby and St Neots.”
He added: “This is another part of the continuing growth of the business. Last year was a record for us built on giving great service to new and existing customers both at home and overseas. We also opened new branches in Leeds and Leicester.
“We have seen a particularly large growth in our rental business because it offers so many advantages such as managing cash flow and taking the worry out of anything going wrong, while for many businesses it is also 100 per cent tax deductible.”
Hughes Trade has installed TVs in holiday parks, commercial washing machines and tumble-dryers in care homes and glass washers in pubs. It operates from 14 branches across the country with 50 employees, but Mr Chisnall signalled that it is set to expand further.
“We will also be looking to open a further two new branches this year in locations that will be new for us.”
Hughes Electrical was started almost 100 years ago. It currently turns over upward of £100m a year and employs around 1,000 people.
• Our picture shows branch manager Grentham Rush (left), with colleagues Scott Perry and Carol Bassam outside the new Hughes Trade branch in Huntingdon.
