Our History

1971
In 1971 Mr Barry Bennett, a former Remington Typewriter Engineer, founded the company Barry Bennett Ltd, in the heart of Bolton. The core business in those early days was selling, maintaining and repairing typewriters for clients in Bolton and the Greater Manchester area.

Barry then saw an opportunity to move forwards into photocopiers, printers and general office supplies which made Barry Bennett Ltd one of the leading business supplies firms servicing the Greater Manchester area.

When one particular client had a requirement for a specialist desk within a very short lead time, Barry set about tailoring a standard desk in his garage at home – spotting another valuable opportunity - he began to manufacture furniture for his own client base and other dealers.

1976
Gresham Office Furniture was formed, manufacturing the popular Design 2000 range of furniture.

1992
Having grown considerably, the company moved into retail premises and by this time Barry’s son, Antony Bennett was a Sales Rep, developing the business alongside Barry.

1994
When a local student with special needs came to the shop as he was having difficulty with a piece of equipment that he had been granted as part of the Disabled Student Allowance, it came to light that students eligible for the grant received each piece of kit from a different supplier, making it very stressful and delaying their studies.

It was at this point that Antony Bennett set about building relationships with local higher education Assessment Centres in the North West and that Barry Bennett Ltd became a ‘one-stop-shop’ for DSA eligible students providing all the hardware and software necessary along with service and after-care solutions for that geographical area.

1999
Imperial Office Furniture was formed, providing a complete range of office furniture and seating on a national basis.

2000
Gresham Office Furniture was sold by Barry Bennett who then retired from the business. Antony became the Managing Director of Barry Bennett Ltd and went on to build the DSA business nationally.

2004
The business moved into larger premises in Bolton with a fully kitted out showroom, warehouse and repair centre.

2006
Premises in Newcastle were purchased where a showroom and storage facility provided useful resource for the north of the country.

2007
The acquisition of London based company The Back Store supported the growth of the company into the workplace arena enhancing The Back Store’s range of workplace furniture and accessories. The combined knowledge and expertise of personnel in ergonomics, workplace assessment and dealing with disabilities provided unparalleled advice; working closely with Independent Assessors, University Disability Specialists, LEAs, Physiotherapists, Occupational Health Professionals, Health & Safety Managers, Facilities Managers, Access to Work Advisors and a whole host of other specialists involved in providing people with the very best opportunities to excel in the workplace and education.

2009
Showroom and warehouse premises opened in Malvern which, coupled with Head Office in Bolton and The Back Store premises in Hammersmith, London, provided a platform for floating stock in UK enabling faster lead-times than any other dealership.

2011
The 40th Anniversary of Barry Bennett Ltd was celebrated with a decision to return to our roots with a significant investment programme into our office supplies division to help continue the strong growth of the company as a whole which has seen revenue boosted from £5m in 2006 to almost £11m.

An identical building next door to Bennett House in Bolton was purchased to house the expanding workforce, warehouse, prepping, repair centre and technical support areas as the business moved forward with plans to re-brand the business bringing the various divisions under one name – Barry Bennett.

2012
As Barry Bennett enters an exciting new phase of our development, moving forwards under one brand, we have a brand new look, new websites including online stores for ergonomic products, office supplies and consumables and exciting plans to develop the existing business, further enhancing the products and service we offer to all our customers throughout the UK.