Footwear giant Pavers shrugs off Jones disappointment with creation of 50 new jobs

The York-based firm said it is embarking on a strategy of expansion with the opening of a new £4m extension of its offices and warehousing in the city and recently made an unsuccessful bid to take over beleaguered Jones the Bootmaker.

The fast-growing company has also been strengthened recently by the appointment of Jason Paver, the grandson of the firm’s founder Catherine Paver, as director of sales. Mr Paver joined Pavers last year, having previously been an executive director with Goldman Sachs in London and New York.

Mr Paver said: “These are exciting times to be joining Pavers.

“We are planning to create a significant number of new jobs in York as we double the size of our headquarters. We currently employ almost 1,500 staff in the UK and Ireland, with another 800 overseas.

“The £4m, 50,000 sq ft extension to our offices and warehouse in York will cater primarily for our extra storage requirements, which are expected to double over the next five years. We currently have 120 shops in Britain and Ireland and the extension gives us room to continue to grow.

“We are continuing to expand internationally, with a number of new stores opening in the Middle East and Asia later this year. There are a tremendous number of exciting opportunities available at the moment.”

While Pavers was unsuccessful in its attempt to capture Jones the Bootmaker, managing director Stuart Pavers said that the bid demonstrated “the clearest of signals that the company is now embarking on a strategy of expansion”.

Mr Paver said that while he was disappointed that the bid for Jones the Bootmaker failed, he admitted that he and the firm were not prepared to pay the asking price being offered for the sale.

“Ultimately, we felt our bid of over £9 million was a fair one, but it fell just short. That’s business. There was a certain synergy between ourselves and Jones, and Jones’ retail outlets in the high streets of many UK towns and cities would have suited us perfectly. We are especially keen to increase our presence in town and city centres in the south of England.

“We are now determined to increase our presence and portfolio in the high street, especially in the south of England, and this will be one of our main objectives in the next couple of years. Taken in conjunction with the opening of a new store at Singapore Airport and major expansion plans at our headquarters at Northminster Business Park, the future of Pavers looks extremely bright.

“We believe a heightened profile on the UK’s high streets is both timely, given the number of voids on the high street, and desirable.

“We are also looking to increase our sales online, and via catalogue and TV, which we regard as vital parts of our retail operation going forward,”

Jones was ultimately acquired by Leeds-based turnaround specialist Endless who bough the business and assets in an £11m deal, saving 72 stores and the head office.

The company, which had annual sales of more than £105 million in 2016, has overseas operations in India, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi.