Increased bank funding has set a long-established specialist furniture business on course for further growth.

Two directors at Keighley-based British Thornton ESF Ltd have raised the cash to buy out their third partner who is retiring and are looking to build on the firm’s position as the largest independent manufacturer of school furniture in the UK.

The deal with Co-operative Bank has provided increased funding for the 135-year-old firm and its its parent company, British Thornton Direct Ltd.

Directors have negotiated a new cash-flow loan facility and an increase in the property loan originally granted to fund the company’s current premises in South Street, where the company moved in 2005.

The extra funding has enabled directors Gary Wilks and Stuart Little to acquire the shares of fellow-director David Jevons, who is retiring.

British Thornton is a leading designer, manufacturer and installer of furniture and fittings for education establishments and industrial research laboratories.

Six years ago, the company expanded to a 4.7 acre site in Keighley where it has its headquarters and a 110,000 sq ft manufacturing complex.

The £3m investment in new premises, along with a further £2m in new machinery, enabled the business to continue growing, and it now employs 170 staff.

British Thornton has produced furniture for schools across the UK.

It has installed educational laboratories at universities including Oxford, York, Sheffield, Bristol and King’s College, London.

The company has also developed research laboratories for leading companies such as Pfizer, Anglia Water, Chroma Therapeuticals, Cookson Matthey and Gillette UK.

Gary said: “We have enjoyed a 14-year relationship with The Co-operative Bank, working closely with them since 1996 when we undertook a management buyout which was supported by the bank.

“It is good news that their continued backing means that my co-director, Stuart Little, and I can take the company forward and secure our strong position in this niche, growing market.”

David Whitehouse, corporate relationship manager for The Co-operative Bank, said: “British Thornton is a long-established and solid Yorkshire business and we are delighted to be able to support the directors. They benefit from long experience and operate within a market where there is still considerable potential for growth.

“We are pleased to once again be working with local professionals to bring about a positive outcome for one of the region’s oldest businesses.”