Centre’s backing for a tight-knit company

James C Brett (Yarn Merchants), which is based in Bingley, West Yorkshire, hopes to hire more staff after gaining support from Yorkshire Bank’s West Yorkshire Business Banking Centre.

As well as arranging foreign exchange and overdraft facilities so the company can manufacture in Turkey, Yorkshire Bank’s Business Banking Centre in Bradford has backed the partnership’s expansion by helping it acquire a 9,000 sq ft warehouse facility.

The company, which has 24 employees and a multi-million pound turnover, plans to take on four more office, warehouse, production and dispatch staff in the next year.

After the February 2003 fire at the company’s manufacturing subsidiary, the Cullingworth Commissioning Company, there were fears the business could fold.

James C Brett designs its own yarns and produces a wide range of patterns, including the Jenny Watson Yarn Collection.

It also manufactures craft cotton and chunky, Aran and fancy yarns, and in the last year has created 12 new ranges and 100 supporting knitting patterns.

Managing partner James Brett, who founded the business in 1965, says: “Fortunately, after the fire some of our competitors stepped in and helped out with our spinning to enable us to continue to service our customers. After about 18 months, and with backing from Yorkshire Bank, we outsourced our spinning to several companies in Turkey with whom we have built up excellent relationships.

“We are a creative design and service-led business and are expanding, due to the major resurgence in knitting as a hobby. This is greatly a result of the efforts of the UK Hand Knitting Association, of which we are a founder member, and the Craft Council. The new warehouse has enabled us to streamline our stockholding from three premises, which has increased our stockholding capability and dispatch speed.”