CELEBRATIONS are never-ending for the Bury-based Birthdays Group Ltd.

The UK's largest independent retailer of greetings cards has now won a national award for being one of the fastest-growing firms in the UK - for the fourth year running.

Birthdays Group was ranked 31st in the UK in the Top 50 Middle Market Performers league table compiled by a Sunday newspaper in association with Price Waterhouse, chartered accountants and business advisers.

The rankings were based on average sales growth over five years - a period in which Birthdays Group boosted its sales by 32.1 per cent per annum to a sales figure of £99.3 million for 1995/6.

The company's success will be marked at a ceremony for the UK's top-performing companies at Arley Hall in Cheshire on July 2.

Broadcaster Frances Edmonds - wife of former England cricketer Phil Edmonds - will be the guest speaker.

Birthdays, which was founded in 1986 by entrepreneur Ron Wood, was bought by institutional investors in a £90 million deal in October, 1986.

Director Nick Wood said today: "Everyone at Birthdays is delighted that the company's tremendous growth rate has continued for the fourth year running.

"We all worked hard to achieve these results and this type of recognition is an important part of our future plans to float the company on the stock market."

Birthdays still owns a profitable wholesale business and cash and carry operation in Bury and has since acquired Paperchain with more than 50 stores in the North-west and Midlands. The company now employs 2,678 people and has 390 shops with more than 50 franchised outlets.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.