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Wednesday November 1 2017
FIRM CELEBRATES ITS 50TH BRANCH Builders’ merchants hits ‘significant milestone’ ... and has big ambitions By Henry Saker-Clark henr y.saker-clark@hulldailymail.co.uk
We are more national now than we have ever been. “We are significantly developing in the North West, in Scotland and we cover all down the east coast to Deal in Kent. “We are moving towards being a more national business. “We are looking, if possible, to have 100 branches by 2022. “There are plenty of people wanting to open their own units and develop them, run and manage them. “We have arrived where we have because we have a brilliant team of people who work hard and long hours and we are extremely proud of them. “They are all pivotal to us continuing to grow and that is good for the city, as it creates local jobs. “Hull is receiving a boost for the economy, which is seeing develop-
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NOW OPEN: David Kilburn, front centre, at the opening of MKM Building Supplies’s 50th branch in Leamington Spa.
BUSINESS leaders from East Yorkshire will witness the launch of the region’s new tourism strategy for the next five years at a major conference next week. Some 250 delegates will be attending the conference next Thursday, which will also give people the opportunity to reflect on the success of Hull 2017. Those attending the Visit Hull and East Yorkshire (VHEY) Tourism Conference at the Mercure Grange Park Hotel in Willerby will hear from keynote speakers Andrew Stokes, who joined Visit England last year as its England director, and Julia Bradbury, above, the TV presenter best known for Countryfile, which she presented from 2004 to 2014. Ms Bradbury will focus on rural tourism and the opportunities it presents. Also speaking is Fran Hegyi, executive director of Hull 2017; Matt Jukes, chief executive of Hull City Council, about this year’s cultural celebrations; and industry expert Professor John Lennon, who is leading preparations on VHEY’s new five-year tourism plan. Prof Lennon, director of the Moffat Centre for Travel and Tourism Business Development at Glasgow Caledonian University, completed the original strategy which led to the setting up of VHEY ten years ago and is leading the team setting new tourism goals and strategies to be implemented from April. In 2007, the value of tourism to the local economy was put at £615m; by 2016 that had risen to £797m and is expected to touch £1bn by next year. In terms of jobs, more than 17,000 people are dependent on the sector for full-time, part-time or seasonal jobs.
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A HULL builders’ merchants says it has hit a “significant milestone” as it opens its 50th national branch, coming a long way from the solitary Hull store in a “big shed” 22 years ago. David Kilburn, right, started MKM Building Supplies in 1995. It has seen rapid growth in the past year, opening seven new branches across the country. He says he plans to continue the company’s impressive expansion and have 100 branches open by 2022. The company has now opened its 50th branch in Leamington Spa and the chief executive says there are many new branches in the pipeline. Mr Kilburn said, while the company now has a greater national presence, it started from humble beginnings. He said: “It’s a really significant milestone for us. We started in what was effectively a big shed in Hull 22 years ago. “I suppose it’s down to a lot of hard work from a lot of people who have seized the opportunity to help make us successful. “It’s similar to a franchise, so it has people pushing forward with the businesses and they have really made it work. “Hull is very much a core part of the business, as this is where our humble beginnings started and we are very supportive of Hull. “Our success in Hull has allowed us develop, branching out further, and has meant we can open up in new places, such as Honiton, Leamington Spa and Heatherhill recently.
Tourism plan for next five years revealed