FIFTY new jobs are to be created as a York online retail business acquires new premises in a bid to drive its revenue beyond £10 million.

Monster Group UK, currently based at Stockton-on-the-Forest, is to move into its new 19,000sq ft development in early March.

The new premises at Sheriff Hutton are five times larger than Monster’s existing site, and have been bought as the business plans to increase turnover from £2.5 million to £12.5 million in the next five years.

The group also aims to increase its workforce from 16 to about 65 over the same period.

Monster Group was founded by chemist Rana Harvey after she began sourcing mannequins to display clothes from Europe and the Far East, having struggled to find what she wanted in the UK market.

Her venture led to the launch of Monster Retail in 2007, with the business now also selling shop fixtures and fittings.

Following further developments over the last seven years, Monster Group UK now encompasses five divisions: Monster Retail; Monster Racking, which supplies warehouse, garage and van shelving; Monster Doodle, which provides graphic equipment to the signage industry under its own PixMax brand, and Monster Chef, which specialises in commercial and domestic kitchen equipment, including its own kuKoo brand.

Monster’s acquisition of new premises was supported by HSBC’s North Yorkshire Commercial Centre through a six-figure finance package, in a deal led by international commercial manager Tom Sikora.

Ms Harvey said: “We have an exciting growth plan for the business and the increased capacity our new site offers is key to that.

“I like to spot opportunities for new markets and I envisage Monster launching one or two different brands a year, focusing on new sectors.

“We have concentrated on establishing a robust infrastructure for the business, which means it is now easily scalable.”

In addition to the domestic market, Monster Group UK exports particularly to mainland Europe through its Monster Racking brand, and is targetting growth in the US .

Andy Follington, HSBC area commercial director for North Yorkshire, said: “Rana is a young entrepreneur who has the drive and tenacity to succeed.

“She is always looking at ways to develop and progress her business and we are pleased to have supported this move, which marks an exciting step in the development of Monster Group UK.”