Flying Flowers deserts Jersey for UK blooms

Flying Flowers, one of the arms of Flying Brands, is to end its 25-year history of flying fresh flowers to the UK from Jersey and shift its sourcing to an English supplier.

This means it will lose the benefits of a tax loophole which permits goods under the value of £18 to be shipped to the UK without incurring VAT.

That is worth around £250,000 a year to Flying Brands but it expects to more than make up for that by the superior quality and range of the English flowers. It sends out some 750,000 bouquets or bunches a year.

Flying Brands said the UK supplier Top Flora with whom it has been working since April had drastically cut complaint levels from 6% to less than 1%.

Analysts said they expect the changes to have little effect in the current year but they should start boosting profits the next year.

The move will not mean job cuts in Jersey because Flying Brands expects to use the flower-packing facilities for its fast-growing Gardening Direct operation.

Its audio books and DVDs business Listen2 also remains on the island.

The group has poached Marie Myles from Experian as its new sales and marketing director.