SCOTT REID DEPUTY BUSINESS EDITOR
A SCOTTISH family business that supplies furniture to

hotels, pubs and restaurants has merged with a rival south of the Border to create a £4 million company.

Glasgow-based Browns Furniture Company has tied the knot with Satelliet UK, based near London, and signed a partnership agreement with its parent company, the Dutch multi-national Satelliet Group.

The new company, Satelliet Browns, will have a headcount of 30 and a combined turnover of £4m and is projected to increase revenues by more than £2m over the next year.

With showrooms and warehouses in London and Glasgow, it will be one of the biggest suppliers of indoor and outdoor furniture to the leisure industry throughout the UK and Ireland.

Browns, which was founded almost 60 years ago, is run by brothers Harvey and Kevin Ockrim – the third generation of their family to operate the business.

Harvey Ockrim said: “The Satelliet Group operates in 11 countries, and that means we will now be able to offer our UK clients unrivalled choice of new and exclusive ranges from around the globe.”

Kevin Ockrim added: “At one time Browns was famous for running a furniture ambulance which collected old tables chairs and suites and treated them in our furniture hospital.

“But that side of the business fell away in the 1990s and we are now recognised throughout the leisure industry for the breadth and depth of our furniture range.”

Christan Brouwers, managing director of Satelliet Group, will join the Ockrim brothers on the board of Satelliet Browns.

Mick McHugh, director of business growth at Scottish Enterprise Renfrewshire, said: “Browns are a classic adapt-and-prosper story.”