Kent Blaxill opens new branch

East Anglian independent builders merchant Kent Blaxill has opened a new decorating centre in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, taking its total number of branches to nine.

The new branch is at Unit 1, Stukeley Meadows Ind. Estate, St Margaret’s Way and will stock both trade and designer paints.

The Mayor of Huntingdon, Bill Hensley, cut the ribbon to officially open the new branch in the town on Thursday 1st May.

Welcoming the company to the town, Hensley said: “It is great to see another business opening in Huntingdon. It is the fastest growing town in the fastest growing county in the country.”

The three-man branch, which will open at 7.30am daily and on Saturday mornings, will serve an area from Huntingdon and Cambridge to St Ives and south Peterborough.

Run by newly appointed manager David Jacobs, with long-serving Kent Blaxill employee Colin Baxter as the sales representative, the new store also features a designer paints showroom.

Simon Blaxill, managing director, said: “We are very pleased to be opening in Huntingdon – the town has very much a family air about it and we have been a family firm for 175 years. I understand that we have been made to feel very welcome here. We genuinely believe we have a lot to offer to our core market, the professional decorators, but we are also very pleased to welcome DIY enthusiasts. As well as having knowledgeable staff we are backed up by our suppliers, which enables us to be very responsive to customer problems.”

The branch will stock thousands of product lines from a wide range of manufacturers, including major paints suppliers Dulux and Crown, and designer paint specialists Farrow & Ball and Little Greene.

Ron McConnachie, commercial director, said: “With a lot of growth planned around Huntingdon, it is an ideal place for Kent Blaxill to open a new branch and fits perfectly with our expansion plans.”