Furniture Village plots expansion after securing £6m investment from the Business Growth Fund

Furniture Village, which has been trading for 25 years this month, has 40 UK stores and generates sales of £200m.

BGF will take an 8% equity stake in Furniture Village and senior investment manager Jon Simon will take a seat on the retailer’s board.

The investment will also go on technology to enhance the customer experience in store and further develop its ecommerce platform.

Furniture Village chief executive Peter Harrison said: “Having achieved a significant improvement in trading performance in our last financial year ending March 2014, which has continued strongly into this current year, this is an ideal time for us to expand and further enhance our presence, both in terms of physical stores and online.

“This substantial investment will enable us to accelerate our plans and for Furniture Village to remain at the forefront of British retail in its sector.”

Simon said: “This represents an exciting opportunity for BGF to back a well known British brand with a strong heritage and a track record of profitability. 

“Over 25 years Furniture Village has developed into one of the UK’s leading furniture retailers and we look forward to supporting the management team as the company embarks on this next phase of growth.”