EXCLUSIVE
BRITISH furniture chain Oak Furnitureland is to open its first outlet in Northern Ireland.
The retailer plans to open a showroom before the end of the year, it can be revealed.
It already has more than 60 outlets across Britain.
Headquartered in Swindon, the company employs more than 1,000 people across the group.
The firm handles around 400,000 customer orders a year.
It sells a range of hardwood cabinet furniture, sofas, beds and mattresses and furniture for living rooms, dining rooms, and offices.
The company - which also owns the Sofa Store brand - was founded in 2006 and has four times been included in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 detailing the fastest growing firms in the UK.
A source close to the company confirmed plans to open "within the next couple of months".
However, they said details on where the new store would be situated was still being finalised.
Oak Furnitureland stores generally occupy large out of town units at retail parks and shopping outlets.
The company's owner Jason Bannister is currently in the running for the London and South region of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
The chain's arrival continues a retail resurgence across Belfast and the north.
Retailers have been attracted by growing consumer confidence and a more welcoming rates environment.
A revaluation of non-domestic rates earlier this year has turned around the fortunes of some shopping districts, most notably Donegall Place and Castle Court which have seen a raft of new openings.
