A BLINDS maker is making a £350,000 move to new premises it says will help keep pace with increased demand.

Monbello Blinds is transforming a building on the crossroads of Roman Road and Oxford Road, in Middlesbrough, into a showroom for its window dressings.

Bosses at the 22-year-old company, say the site will provide the business with its first dedicated display space for products, which include in vogue plantation and Californian-style shutters alongside Venetian, Roman and roller blinds.

The firm already operates from a site in Middlesbrough’s Stonehouse Street, but officials say the new premises, built years ago using steel beams from Middlesbrough’s Dorman Long and Co, will give it a new dimension and strengthen its presence across the North.

Andrew Hynes, managing director, is leading initial efforts to renovate the large site, which, over the years, has been split up to house a carpet shop, furniture outlet, hairdressers and a sandwich bar, and hopes it could be ready for customers in three months.

Pete Craggs, Monbello’s business development manager, told The Northern Echo the expansion would offer the company an exciting new chapter, adding it wants to enrich its Teesside roots while reaching out to customers across Yorkshire and the Midlands, where it has a strong sales presence.

He said: “We’ve never had a showroom, so this will be the crux of the operation.

“We have some high-end products and need this space because people like to be able to see and touch them before making a decision.

“It’s easier for them to identify how their home will look if they can do that with the blinds and shutters.”

Mr Craggs said the business, which employs about ten people and was previously based in Middlesbrough’s Southlands Centre, is looking forward to operating from its new base.

He added: “It has been unloved for quite a bit of time and we are excited to have somewhere with such great features.

“The interest in our work has been very high; if we prop the door open we probably get 15 people a day looking in and asking ‘what’s going on?’

“It’s great to be able to bring it back to life.”

Mr Craggs added once the initial gutting of the property is complete, which will see Mr Hynes oversee heating work, contractors will arrive on site to repair the roof, plaster walls and fit electrics and telecoms.