Member Article

North East furniture designer and manufacturer invests in future

Godfrey Syrett has announced plans to increase its turnover to £40m by 2020 and create 20 new jobs, as it targets growth in the commercial sector. The business which designs, manufactures and distributes furniture to the education and public sectors has been spurred on by a record-breaking month in July, when it secured orders amounting to £4.4m.

Established in 1947, Godfrey Syrett started out supplying furniture to the then newly formed NHS, it is now a highly successful £25 million turnover business employing 220 staff. It has a head office and manufacturing site in Killingworth, in addition to a distribution and logistics hub and another manufacturing site, both in Durham. The company has also recently acquired a new site at Belmont Industrial Estate in Durham, which will double its distribution space to accommodate expanding operations. The new site, which is currently undergoing a six-figure refurbishment, will replace the firm’s existing distribution facility when it opens in January.

Godfrey Syrett, which counts the NHS, Morrisons supermarkets, the Ministry of Defence, Northumbria & Newcastle Universities & St Johns Ambulance as clients, is developing a growth strategy to target the North East commercial sector which it believes will help the company achieve its £40 million turnover target.

Neil Tweddle, managing director at Godfrey Syrett, said: “Over the years we have built up many successful partnerships within the education and public sectors. We now have an exciting five-year growth plan to expand into the North East commercial market to offer furniture solutions to corporate occupiers. This is a sector where we see significant potential that we haven’t previously explored, and given the improving economy we feel now is the time for us to take advantage of this opportunity.”

“To assist in delivering our growth strategy we are recruiting a business development manager with specialist sector knowledge. We will also soon be launching a second showroom which will allow local businesses to come to either our Killingworth or Durham sites to try out our extensive range of furniture.”

The company, which designs and manufactures the majority of its products here in the North East, has recently completed an £850,000 investment in a brand new fleet of eight purpose-built delivery vehicles, which travel in the region of 47,000 miles per month throughout the UK.

Mr Tweddle added: “We are now investing heavily in the business to cater for future expansion, and having our own delivery fleet demonstrates our commitment to ensuring the highest level of service from design through to installation. With the acquisition of our new site in Durham and a new showroom ready to launch, now is a very exciting time for Godfrey Syrett.”