Magnet is a British kitchen retailer operating in over two hundred locations across the United Kingdom supplying products under the Magnet and Magnet Trade brands. The company has over 2,000 employees and its headquarters are in Darlington, County Durham.
Magnet was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, but is now part of Nobia UK, a division of the Nobia group which is listed on the Swedish Stock Exchange. The Nobia division also includes brands such as Gower and Norema.
History
Formation and early years
Magnet was established in Bingley, West Yorkshire in 1918 by Tom Duxbury. Legend has it that Duxbury traded his horse for a firelighting company and named his new company Magnet after the horse. During the 1920s Magnet pioneered the mass production of joinery, door and window products and soon began supplying joinery components for major construction projects. New operations were opened in Keighley,