IT'S go for growth for leading discount retailer Ethel Austin which has 20 stores in Greater Manchester.

The company, which has a branch in Bury, has completed an institutional buy-out (IBO) with Lloyds TSB Development Capital. This deal raises total funding of £55 million which will provide the company with the opportunity to maximise its growth potential throughout the UK. The funding will be used to support the company's extensive store roll-out programme which will see the launch of up to 20 further stores per year throughout the UK, leading to a recruitment drive to fill more than 500 retail posts in the next five years.