THE soft furnishings entrepreneur who boasts Premier League footballers as clients says the scale of what is believed to be the UK’s largest independent fabric retailer surprises even him.

Peter Grimes, the man behind the Simon Boyd chain and its Princess Street store, kickstarted his venture more than 40 years ago and now employs around 70 people.

Providing interiors for the Gleneagles Hotel and five-star The Corinthia among many other top-end premises, the company sources fabrics from across Europe with 50,000 fabric options at their disposal.

Peter said: “I always knew that I wanted to do something in business, there was an entrepreneurial spirit lurking within and I started with a small amount of stock which I sold to market stalls and shops in north Wales. We aim at the middle market – the John Lewis customer is absolutely perfect for us.

“The scale of the operation now has far exceeded my initial expectations.”

Peter added that the ‘expert support and guidance’ of chartered accountants Coxeys has been essential.

Operations director Carla Huxley said: “We have a huge catchment area. Through the Knutsford store, we also carry out work for Premiership footballers but because of client confidentiality I can’t name names, unfortunately.”