The next time you visit a pub that has been recently refurbished and admire its furniture, the chances are it is not new at all. It could have been simply restored to perhaps better than its original condition by Oxfordshire firm Pubstuff, which is expanding on the back of a growing demand for its services.

The majority of the time Pubstuff buys tired-looking furniture from managed houses, refurbishes it on site and and then sells it on to independent pubs.

It is a win-win situation as it stops unwanted furniture going straight to landfill, while also helping small pub operators cut costs.

The refurbishment is also carried out with the enviroment in mind. For example, wood from Malaysian rubber plants, which would otherwise have been discarded after the main product has been extracted is used extensively.

Managing director Ian Huband explained: “It was previously a waste product but it is actually a quality wood that lasts very well and offers good value for money.”

Other refurbishment materials come specifically from Europe rather than China as the quality is better.

But while Pubstuff has built up a healthy UK business, increasingly it has found a growing international clientele finding their way to its Cropredy headquarters via the company website.

It seems there is a demand for authentic British pub furniture with customers in countries ranging from Portugal to Singapore, Greece to the United States.

In fact recently the company furnished the Stanley Arms in the Falkland Islands town of Port Stanley.

To help develop the overseas business, Mr Huband contacted the UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) South East, the Government’s export advisers, two years ago and he joined the Passport to Export programme of support.

Mr Huband said: “Our ITA Peter Warren was very helpful in opening our eyes to other markets than the traditional ‘English pub’ in Spain, which we already supplied extensively.

“He gave good direction and contacts. Our next step will be to take advantage of the offer of matched funding from UKTI to explore the German and Dutch markets by attending some trade exhibitions.

“We have seen a tenfold year-on-year increase since 2007, and fully expect this to accelerate.”

In fact, Mr Huband reckons up to 20 per cent of Pubstuff’s turnover is now accounted for by the export business That has led to the business expanding with the company’s northern base in Rochdale, Lancashire, relocating to larger warehouse premises in Haydock to cope with increased demand.

But is the business abroad simply replacing existing trade at home with so many pubs reported to be closing in the UK?

Mr Huband said: “The pubs that are closing tend to be badly run. In 80 per cent of cases they re-open and, with 57,000 pubs in the UK, the numbers of closures are relatively small.

“If you look at retail shops in the high street, the closure rate is a lot worse. As a result, our business has grown from nothing in 2002, to having a turnover of more than £2m.”

Mr Huband’s findings are backed by official statistics which show 90 per cent of British adults consider themselves ‘pub-goers’, according to the British Beer and Pub Association, and nearly a third of the population, more than 15 million adults, go to a pub at least once a week.

Mr Huband and his wife Sally, who had both worked in the drinks industry, set up Pubstuff in a barn in Chipping Norton before moving to the William Scott Road Industrial Centre, Cropredy.

Mr Huband said: “It’s a disused farm with low rent and decent business rates, and it gives us a lot of storage space, and we also employ local people from the surrounding villages.

“When we first started the business we knew it was going to be a success as, from the very first time we sent out some leaflets, the telephone started ringing. We send out a few cars to pubs and do a little trade advertising, but the rest of the business is generated by the Internet.”

Such has been the success of the website, Mr Huband is looking to have it translated into different languages to help generate more inquiries from abroad.

“Germany is a big target market at the moment and we could do more business in Holland,” he revealed.

But while you would think an obvious target market would be Spain’s Costa Brava, Mr Huband says there is less demand than expected.

“They tend to use garden furniture in Spain and, in fact, we sell more to France where there is quite a market in making places look like bars, rather than cafes.”

Now expansion is on the cards once more with Pubstuff having recently been granted a planning consent to erect a bigger building, and a new member of staff is being recruited to add to the 12-strong workforce.

That will help the firm cope with bigger orders, such as one for a cricket club in Milton Keynes, which is a major project, along with working mens’ clubs and restaurants, as well as pubs.