HEXHAM-BASED furnishing group Dickinsons is ending 2016 on a high, having reported an impressive profit growth.

For the year ending March 31 2016, Dickinsons Furnishers Group has reported a 72 per cent rise in profits and a 22 per cent increase in turnover.

The family-run business has been in existence since 1878 and now employs over 80 people across the group

The company runs five stores across the North-East and Cumbria and has recently acquired Gosforth’s New England Interiors.

In accounts filed at Companies House, all three divisions of Dickinsons – retail, commercial and contracting – returned positive growth and contributed to the increased turnover from £8.2m to £10m and a pre-tax profit rise of £739,000.

Managing director John Spreadbury said: “We are absolutely delighted with our results, return on investment and increased sales across our retail stores, contract and commercial divisions.

“We recently opened a new head office, distribution and warehousing facility in Prudhoe where all our non-retail staff are based, which has had huge benefits across the business, allowing all processes and procedures to be controlled centrally.

“We have diversified into multiple markets, reducing risk, and have developed existing relationships and built new ones by winning new contracts which has grown the already successful contracting division and enhanced our commercial division enormously.

“We have also seen a very positive return in retail and we remain confident that the Dickinsons Group will meet this year’s budgeted figures and continue to grow with our upcoming launch in early 2017 of our new e-commerce website, which will allow customers 24/7 access to our goods, as well as an exciting launch of a new store later in 2017, Dickinsons Essentials.”