Celebration time for Party Delights

Party Delights, the specialist fancy dress and confectionery supplier based in Greater Manchester, has defied challenging market conditions to almost double its pre-tax profits.

In the year to December 31, 2016 it cleared £453,788, compared to £241,768 in 2015. Turnover also rose significantly from £16.9m to £18.4m.

Director Stephen Graham said in the Irlam company’s strategic report accompanying its accounts that the party and fancy dress market “remained a very challenging market place”.

“However, the company was able to increase market share through organic growth and the addition of new methods of reaching its customer base,” he said.

“The company’s main focus has been to grow market share by offering as wide a range of products as possible.

“The company has always had good relations with its key suppliers and this is a key element of our strategy.”

Meanwhile, Party Delights is planning to expand with “exciting new developments” produced by its in-house technical and design department, Graham said.

He added: “During the year, we have been focused on improving sales and controlling our costs by monitoring them closely. This has resulted in increased turnover, profit and margins, compared to the prior year.”

During the period, the company employed three more staff than the prior year with a headcount of 139. Its wage bill was £3.2m.

Its seven directors received a total of £385,250. The highest paid director received £128,517.