EUROPE's largest vertical blinds factory is hoping to increase its workforce by up to 50 per cent during the next six years, it was revealed last night.

Hillarys Blinds was yesterday the subject of a management buyout that will help its business plan of at least ten per cent growth each year.

Last night, chief executive James Nicholson said the company's purpose-built factory in Washington, Wearside, which employs 300 people, was planning to recruit between 25 and 50 per cent more staff by the end of the decade.

The UK's largest made-to-measure blinds company was bought for £115m in a deal involving former Marks & Spencer chairman Luc Vandevelde.

The retailer's private equity group Change Capital Partners (CCP) is backing the management buyout of Hillarys, which sold more than a million blinds last year.

It is the second time that Hillarys, which is based in Nottingham, has been the subject of a management buyout.

The company sells about 22 per cent of the UK's made-to-measure blinds and employs 1,000 people at its head office and 14 showrooms in the UK.

Hillarys is being sold by another private equity group, Close Brothers, which backed a buyout from founder Tony Hillary in 2001.

The money paid by CCP, which now has a stake of more than 60 per cent in the company, is more than double that paid by Close Brothers three years ago.

Hillarys chief executive James Nicholson said the company was looking forward to its next phase of growth.

He said: "Our Washington plant was deliberately built large enough to cope with further expansion and we think that facility will help us with our expansion right through to 2008 or 2009.

"We are not operating at capacity at the moment and could take on at least another 25 or even 50 per cent."

CCP was created last year by Mr Vandevelde and two other businessmen. This is its second deal and comes three months after Mr Vandevelde left embattled retailer M&S.

Hillarys was formed in 1971 and sells its products through its Hillarys Blinds showrooms on the high street and through the website www.web-blinds.com.

It also sells to other window blind manufacturers through Arena, which was set up ten years ago.

The company, whose products include wooden venetian blinds, conservatory blinds, awnings and canopies, had a record 10,000 customers a week last year.