During what is the biggest period of expansion the company has ever undertaken, Selco has opened a branch in Guildford on the Slyfield Industrial Estate.

Chris Cunliffe, chief executive of Selco, was quick to praise the entire workforce in helping to achieve the growth – and insisted there were no signs of the expansion slowing down.

Speaking about the opening, Mr Cunliffe said: “Opening our 50th Selco branch is a very proud day and testament to the hard work put in by the entire team across the country.

“With every new branch we open, we are seeing more and more tradespeople taking advantage of the Selco offering and realising we are their one-stop shop.

“As well as opening at least 10 new stores this year, we are also expanding the services on offer at our existing branches and it’s making it a very exciting period in the history of Selco.

“We are delighted to reach 50 branches but the hard work doesn’t stop here and we are already making strong progress towards the next 50.”

The official launch day at Guildford saw professional darts player and former world champion Mark Webster in attendance.

Customers were given the chance to take on Mr Webster in special darts challenges and to win a £50 deduction from their order on the day if they hit the bullseye.

The new Guildford branch features the full Selco offering, including Selco Hire – with thousands of products available for seven-day hire - and a comprehensive kitchen design service.

This is supplemented by a host of online opportunities including a fully transactional website, Click and Collect, a next day delivery courier service covering more than 6,000 products and the opportunity to produce Project Lists.

In opening the new branch, Selco has emphasised its commitment to supporting the communities in which it operates by awarding £1,000 to three charities based in and around Guildford.

The beneficiaries are the Royal Surrey County Hospital Charitable Fund’s Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit Appeal, 1st Merrow Scouts Group and Macmillan Cancer Support’s activities in Guildford.

Selco has supported Macmillan nationally over the last four years, raising more than £400,000 in the process.