A BRADFORD business is thriving during the coronavirus crisis and has even delivered products to two thrill-seeking celebrities too.

SB Skate Ramps has seen a sharp upturn in sales and enquiries with parents looking for unique ways to entertain themselves and their children during the lockdown.

The family-run firm had humble beginnings, back in 2008.

Founder, Nick Shaw, was struggling to find a quality skate ramp, which was suitable for the garden, for his son.

He decided to design and build his own timber half-pipe and that became the company’s first prototype.

SB Skate Ramps were the first in the UK to offer skate ramps in self-assembly kits and have now produced more than 4,000 ramps in a variety of styles - from scooter ramps to surf skate ramps.

The company has seen such a big jump in sales from Europe and the UK during the lockdown that it had to move to bigger premises, in Enterprise Court, Prince Street, Bradford.

This surge in demand has included orders from Rod Stewart and Take That’s Mark Owen.

Yorkshire-based Snowboarding Cup Slopestyle Champion, Katie Ormerod, has even got in on the act.

She has been able to continue her lockdown training with the aid of a skate ramp installed at her Brighouse home.

Mr Shaw said: “It’s so satisfying seeing customers enjoying their time outdoors, whilst keeping fit on one of our ramps.

“We feel lucky to be able to increase our sales at this tough time, when so many businesses are struggling

“It’s certainly not been an easy ride, but I think businesses who see the opportunities and pivot to meet demand, will come out the winners”.

The founder admits it was tough in the beginning to try and balance the increase in orders with tightening restrictions.

He said: “The biggest issue we faced was social distancing both in the workshop and onsite with clients.

“We saw a sudden surge in orders in literally one month, so we had to gear up pretty quickly to fulfil orders and keep our customers happy, whilst adhering to the strict social distancing rules in force.

“We moved to bigger premises to accommodate the upturn in sales, and our skate ramp production line was configured to ensure staff remained at a safe distance.”

The company’s workshop is now back to full production and Mr Shaw says they have a “strong order book” for the rest of the year.

SB Skate Ramps is looking to increase production and staffing levels to cope with a rise in demand throughout the coming months.