A FURNITURE entrepreneur is to create 18 new jobs by taking advantage of the housebuilding explosion in Kent.

Mancunian Bill Walker has set up BCA Furniture in a 10,000 sq ft warehouse at St John’s Court, Ashford.

With more than 500,000 new homes earmarked for the South East by 2016, many of them in Ashford and the Kent Thames Gateway, he anticipates growing demand for kitchens, bedrooms and leather goods.

He has won the exclusive UK rights to distribute products made by Tecnocucina, an Italian kitchen manufacturer based in Padua, near Venice. He also imports leather goods, as well as bedroom furniture from France.

Mr Walker, who lives just four minutes from the warehouse, has invested £150,000 in the new venture.

He has already taken on four people and has plans for at least 14 more, in administration, sales and warehousing over the next year or two.

He believes by then that the business will have taken off and enable him to move to a purpose-built retail warehouse. “I’ve got this building for two years and I hope to outgrow it by then,” he said.

He also has plans to take advantage of his proximity to the Channel Tunnel by exporting products across the water. “It would be nice to get into France,” he said.

Mr Walker, who used to import antique furniture from Belgium before the company he was dealing with went bust, worked closely with Locate in Kent, the agency responsible for attracting jobs and businesses to the area.

“I moved down here because of the growth and opportunities,” he said. “The expansion of housing in the South East combined with a growing public desire to make home improvements, means that now is the right time to establish a business in the South East, and in particular Kent.

“Having moved my family south from Lancashire, it quickly became clear that Kent has a great deal to offer a new business. We are confident that we will take our plans forward to create purpose built premises in the town in the near future.”

Paul Wookey, Locate in Kent chief executive, said: “The decision by BCA Furniture follows our longstanding work with the management team in their search for suitable premises.

“With Ashford and Thames Gateway Kent identified by central government for significant population growth we are seeing many companies relocating to take advantage of the expanding local population and improving economy.”

The company, which will operate a warehousing facility and studio, will host visits by members of the public referred by estate agents and financial advisers through whom BCA Furniture is marketing its product range.