Barker & Stonehouse opens new Guildford store
Furniture retailer Barker & Stonehouse has chosen Guildford for the opening of its 11th store as it continues to extend its reach across southern England.
The family-run retailer’s new 42,000 square foot shop at Guildford’s Ladymead spans two floors and stocks furniture by brands such as Timothy Oulton, Riva 1920, Vi-Spring and Ercol. The store was built on the site of a former fire station after Barker & Stonehouse acquired the 1.4-acre from Surrey County Council.
The shop is the retailer’s third store in the south of England following the 2013 launch of its showroom in London’s Battersea and a new store in Hove which opened its doors last April.
Having opened its first store in Stockton in 1946, Barker & Stonehouse now has eight stores in the north of England and the Midlands, as well as two outlet shops in York and Middlesbrough. The stores in Guildford, Battersea and Hove, together with a new 53,500 square foot distribution warehouse in Crawley, are part of the retailer’s plans to expand its store portfolio south of the Thames.
Barker & Stonehouse is being advised on its southern acquisitions by Edgerley Simpson Howe and requires an optimum store size of around 20,000 square feet on either a freehold or leasehold basis.
