Firebrand Buys Competitor

Firebrand has bought-up competitor Business and Incentive Gifts Ltd., in a move that will double the size of its business to over £3.5million.

This means that since its formation just two and a half years ago, Firebrand has grown to number six in the promotional merchandise business ahead of almost 1000 established companies.

The man behind Firebrand’s success, Andrew Bourne, 45, sees great benefits for the customers of both companies:

'The blending of imaginative skills and world-wide sourcing will bring greater innovative solutions to both customer bases. Larger warehousing and distribution facilities also mean that more promotional schemes can be undertaken.'

In a business hungry for creative product ideas and fast and accurate response times, Bourne puts his success down to a proven formula that tracks new ideas world-wide, builds strong relationship with suppliers to get keen prices and sure deliveries, and has a tightly-knit team of committed and experienced people who understand the promotions business.

Bourne snapped up the Leatherhead based company in a lightening deal when he heard that its owner, Tony Heard planned to retire. The company, having been in the promotional merchandise industry for over 20 years, has an established reputation and a loyal customer base.

'It's a perfect fit,' says Bourne. 'Both companies are about the same size, are in the same business and have highly professional staff, in a business where knowledge and experience count and creativity and quick reactions matter.'

Tony Heard is delighted for his staff, saying that Andrew Bourne is the one man who can make the company grow and realise its full potential.

To get the greatest benefit from merging the two businesses, Bourne is moving his Firebrand operation into the Business and Incentive Gifts Leatherhead headquarters so that the two teams can quickly start working together.

As part of the deal, Bourne has also bought Lexon, an arm of the Leatherhead company with its own branded range of hi-design promotional products selling to the trade and retail.