A 70-YEAR-OLD furniture maker has helped fit out a new £7.5m learning centre.

Godfrey Syrett installed furniture at the National College for Nuclear northern hub, based at Lakes College, in Cumbria.

Bosses say the business, which makes goods in a factory at Langley Moor, near Durham City, supplied tables, desks, storage units and soft seating, including classroom and laboratory chairs.

Tim Fagan, Godfrey Syrett area sales manager, said: “We worked closely with the management team at the college to ensure their brief was met.”

The business last month revealed it has secured a place on the Crown Commercial Service’s residential furniture framework, putting it in line for work with public sector and central Government customers, including the Ministry of Defence.

They added the framework, which has an estimated value of £19m, will run for an initial two years, with potential for it to be extended for a further two years.

During this time, Godfrey Syrett will design, make and install a range of living and dining furniture for the Ministry of Defence’s UK-wide accommodation portfolio.

The firm, which has a working partnership with the Ministry of Defence spanning more than 20 years, recently completed a £1.8m contract in Wiltshire, which involved the transformation of RAF Lyneham into a Defence College of Technical Training.

Godfrey Syrett, which also has a distribution centre on Belmont Industrial Estate, on the outskirts of Durham City, appointed a new boss earlier in the year to support its pursuit of a £50m goal.

Chief executive and chairman Mark Dixon has raised the company’s growth target from £40m to £50m, which he plans to achieve by 2020.