Budget Greeting Cards will be opening its ninth branch this Sunday (16 June), forming part of the wholesaler’s ambitious expansion plan.
The new location will mean that the greeting card, partyware, stationery and gift wholesaler will now be trading from nine branches across the UK and Ireland.
The Nottingham store will be the first of five new BGC branches, although the other locations have yet to be announced.
Co-founder Paul Lavery has confirmed that the launch of the Nottingham site is the first step in the business’ plans to establish a ‘bricks and mortar’ presence in geographic areas that have not had a local BGC branch in the past, adding that he is: “very excited about the future of this new branch.”
He continued: “Nottingham was an obvious choice for this first additional branch as we are aware of the size of the existing market from the number of our customers who already travel to our other branches. This location will offer greater reach into the East Midlands and beyond, enabling customers who haven’t had access to the quality of our exclusive product offering before.”
The new 40,000 sq ft premises is based on the Centurion Business Park and will carry a wide selection of partyware (with a complete range covering all categories – balloons, banners, badges, etc), greeting cards, stationery, toys, homeware and gifts. It will also include a dedicated area for balloon training and workshops.
The opening of the new branch comes just three months after Canadian private equity company Ardenton Capital Corporation bought a 51% stake in the wholesale business.
“Ardenton Capital’s investment represents a new chapter for BGC,” said Paul, on the new partnership. “It’s great to be working with new partners who bring new expertise and a fresh vision for the future.”
The new Nottingham branch joins Budget’s current eight branches, which are in Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Dublin, Dunstable, Gateshead and Manchester.
