STOREY Carpets, the UK's largest independent carpet retailer, has opened its first store in Scotland.

The company has invested £1.6m in six new Storey Carpets and Walter Wall stores in Dumfries, Whitehaven, in Cumbria, and Ryhope, near Sunderland, all of which opened over the bank holiday weekend.

The Washington, Tyne and Wear-based company, opened its new Storey Carpets and Walter Wall Carpets stores as it announced expansion plans that include 12 stores in Scotland within the next ten years. The plans include both Storey Carpets stores and Walter Wall Carpets, the company's factory outline chain.

Simon Heptinstall, chief executive at Storey Carpets, said the success of the company's Carlisle outlet had encouraged the move into Scotland.

He said: "A number of our Carlisle store customers already come from the Dumfries area, making Dumfries a logical choice for our first Scottish store.

"We have grown the business significantly over the past few years. We are now looking at a more aggressive expansion plan and are confident of the Scottish market's potential.

"The Storey's and Walter Wall formats work very well, and by opening these two stores together we are able to offer customers the best of both worlds."

He added: "The Whitehaven stores will continue to strengthen Storey's presence in the North-West, and the new stores in Ryhope give us a more complete coverage of the Sunderland area.

"We have already agreed deals for a further three stores over the next six months, and we are looking at several other potential sites."

The new store openings take the total number of Storey Carpet outlets to 28, including nine Walter Wall stores, 18 Storey Carpets stores and ukcarpets-direct.com, the company's Internet trading format.

Storey's recent growth has confirmed the company's position as the UK's leading independent carpet retailer.