THE sole UK distributor of Pandora jewellery yesterday said huge demand would send turnover towards £20m in the next two years.

North-East entrepreneur Darren McCormick launched Pandora UK in 2005 after signing a ten-year contract with the Danish parent company for the sole distribution rights.

From its offices in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, Pandora supplies about 125 jewellery stores nationwide, and turn- over is expected to more than double this year to at least £2.5m.

But Mr McCormick said the business was growing on a massive scale month-on-month and expects to be supplying more than 700 stores by 2009.

He said such an increase would push turnover to about £20m and lead to Pandora at least doubling its workforce of ten.

"Its taken off in a crazy way and we are growing at a staggering rate," he said.

Pandora jewellery is already popular in the US, Germany, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Australia.

Mr McCormick discovered the jewellery while on holiday in the US and immediately contacted Pandora's head office in Copenhagen with a view to bringing the jewellery to the UK.

The range includes gold and silver bracelets, to which people can add a variety of beads and charms. There are more than 2.5 billion combinations of jewels, ensuring that each bracelet is impossible to replicate.

Mr McCormick said it was a huge gap in the UK market waiting to be filled.

"We knew we were on to a winner - and we had absolute faith in the product we wanted to sell - but even we couldn't predict the runaway success of Pandora UK.

"It has exceeded all our wildest expectations," he said.

"The product is so versatile and so personal, allowing customers to create their own piece of jewellery to treasure forever. There is nothing else quite like it."

North-East retailers of Pandora jewellery include Bramwells Jewellers, David Summerfield, David Hall Goldsmiths, The Jewellers Guild, TLC Jewellery and Whittakers.