AN e-liquid firm in East Lancashire has doubled the number of its stores with the takeover of an Irish rival.

Bosses at Darwen-based Flavour Warehouse, which is best known for their brand Vampire Vape, say their acquisition of Total Vapour will give them a foothold in Northern Ireland and Eire.

And the sale will also allow the Lower Eccleshill Road firm, which only started out seven years ago, to break into the electronic cigarette market

The Irish family-owned venture, which also sells third-party e-liquids, has shops in Belfast, Newtonabbey and Carrickfergus, with the latter location also home to their head office.

Currently Vampire Vape stores can be found in Burnley, Oswaldtwistle and city centre Manchester.

Phil Boyle, a company director at Flavour Warehouse, said: “It’s an exciting time for Flavour Warehouse as we continue to expand our distribution.

“Total Vapour is going to be a huge asset for our diversification into electronic cigarettes.”

He believes that the move will allow Flavour Warehouse, which also makes parts and equipment for other industry companies, to benefit from their e-cigarettes knowhow.

And Total Vapour, which began its trading life in March 2007, will be able to plug into a business model which has seen the Lancashire outfit, which also handles the Base and Operation Vape lines, distribute to more than 80 countries worldwide.

Mr Boyle, who founded the venture with Nathan Walton and is celebrating their first corporate takeover, added: "This is a great opportunity for our company, and it reflects our mission to provide customers with the highest quality of e-liquid and e-cigarette devices."

The announcement comes on the back of a strong 2019 for Flavour Warehouse, which saw them named the medium sized business of the year and scoop the international achievement prize at this year’s Red Rose Awards., and be nominated in two more.

Their workforce has swelled from 10 to 100, over their history and now on Global Way they have a multi-million pound 115,000 square foot manufacturing and offices hub. Other brands under their umbrella include Koncept XIX and Vlads VG.