A NORTH-EAST entrepreneur who built up a university computer project into a £1m business has opened his first shop in his home town, that will employ six people.

Darren Pegram, of Merrybent, Darlington, started INKredible.co.uk when he was a 19-year-old student at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Ten years on, Mr Pegram is expanding his successful ink cartridge venture and has opened Ink Smart, a shop in Thompson Street, Darlington.

It comes as the business looks set to more than double its turnover this year to a projected £2.5m.

Selling mainly to domestic customers, the business started as an e-commerce website project at university.

Mr Pegram, who runs the business with his wife, Nicola, said: “When I put the project together as part of my university course, I thought it could be a very good sales vehicle and decided to go into selling ink cartridges.

“It was really more for beer money and clothes while I was at university, but when I finished it was paying more than a graduate job would, so I started to pursue it.

“It built up gradually, but now we have a turnover in excess of £1m and it’s going very well.”

The shop, called Ink Smart, is the next step in Mr Pegram’s business plans, and he hopes eventually to franchise the company.

The former Darlington Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College pupil believed part of the ongoing success of his business was in providing inexpensive alternatives to branded ink cartridge names.

He said that, since the economic crunch has started to bite, business is booming.

Mr Pegram said: “People start to trade down and look for inexpensive alternatives, so our business has grown.

“The website is very easy to use and we don’t compromise on quality.

“In fact, we guarantee that the quality of our cartridges is just as good as in the branded ones.

“We are getting a lot of customers who would previously go for the more expensive cartridges now looking for a cheaper alternative.”

The Ink Smart shop has received funding from the North-East England Investment Centre, through Business Enterprise North-East and Business Link.

Mr Pegram said: “I felt there was a gap in the market in Darlington and we would like to open another shop in the town in due course, and eventually to franchise.

“I hope it also shows that we have confidence in the town.”