HOEK Flowers has secured its third UK warehouse at a Lye industrial estate.

The Dutch business, which distributes to 52 countries worldwide, has taken unit 10 at Logicor’s Lye Valley Industrial Estate on a five-year lease to serve its customers across the Midlands and northern England.

Kerri Cox, Logicor’s asset manager, UK, said: “This family-run business has a real passion for flowers, always working to discover and secure the best products for its customers, both from Flora Holland and direct from local growers in Holland and many other countries.”

She said the new 2,346 sq ft base for Hoek “will speed up their distribution across the UK” and she added: “We are pleased to be able to facilitate their growth needs.”

Darren Morrish, general manager of Hoek Flowers, said the new base will offer the flexibility to expand warehouse space as the business continues to grow and he added: “These new premises will help us to service the Midlands and the north particularly, reducing delivery times which is key to our customers, as we supply flowers to independent florists all across the UK.”

Hoek Flowers, which won the Supplier of the Year Award at the British Florist Association Industry Awards in October, was founded by Peter Hoek who started his career in the flower industry at 17.

Having set a flower shop with his brothers in a small town in Holland, he set about expanding their customer base, driving his flowers to the south of France to sell to French tourists.

While driving back with an unprofitable empty truck, he discovered local growers in France selling products not available back home. Buying these local flowers became the base for the business, which has now been passed to his sons and has grown to become a web shop selling international flowers to an international customer base.