OAK Furniture Land opened its first Manchester store in Stretford’s revamped White City Retail Park at the weekend – and celebrations got off to a sweet start.

The furniture retailer welcomed the Mayor of Trafford John Holden, community fundraisers Hazel and Justine Gibb and Emma Ball from Urmston’s award-winning Richard’s Cakes to the grand opening of its 70th store on Saturday April 23.

The store – which has brought seven new jobs to the area – commissioned a St George replica cake, which it donated to Stretford duo Hazel and Justine for a fundraising dinner in honour of the patron saint at St Matthews Community Centre on Saturday night.

The cake was auctioned off at the dinner and funds split between Stretford Food Bank, the Mayor’s charities and Ellis’ Fun Fund.

The 2ft cake was baked by Emma, who has won a string of awards for her elaborate creations, and took 40 hours to complete.

Hazel said: “We’re thrilled to take part in the official opening of the new Oak Furniture and wish them every success in the future. The cake donation is a wonderful gesture to support the fundraising work that we do in the local community and to highlight our St George’s Day Fundraising Dinner.”

Oak Furniture Land follows several recent major retailers to secure a unit at Derwent Group’s £10million revamped retail park, including Home Bargains, Costa Drive Thru, and M&S Foodhall.

James Maule-Ffinch, senior asset manager at The Derwent Group, said: “Oak Furniture Land is the latest of a number of major retailers that have already committed to securing their places at White City Retail Park.

“With the arrival of Costa and M&S Foodhall, the mix of tenants is diversifying and the retail park is expected to become a major retail destination for people across Manchester with excellent accessibility and some very popular brands.

“It’s a really exciting time for White City which has gone from strength to strength since its recent redevelopment.”