Soaring demand for hot tubs to enjoy during lockdown has transformed a Newcastle business from a sideline venture into a £4m-a-month operation.

Wave Direct was launched last year as an online venture for young entrepreneurs Dan Luper and Tom Jeffrey, selling a range of inflatable hot tub alongside sports and leisure kit including kayaks and paddle boards.

Since the start of lockdown, however, Wave Direct has been inundated with orders for its portable inflatable outdoor Wave Spas and Hot Tubs, which are ready to use in five minutes, triggering a 1,600% spike in sales.

The co-founders had previously turned over £300,000 annually – but sales reached over £4m in April alone and are set to rise by a further £500,000 this month.

The huge rise has prompted Mr Jeffrey, of Whickham, Gateshead, to leave his job as e-commerce director for online retailer Jules B to focus fully on Wave Direct.

Mr Luper, of Gosforth, Newcastle continues to run his company, called Custom Sourcing, which works with retailers, manufactures and distributors to competitively source products, but he says Wave Direct is taking up much of his time at the moment.

The pair see no sign of a slowdown in the business, as holidays are cancelled and families seek to make the most of their gardens during the Coronavirus pandemic.

They are now working closely with their suppliers to ramp up delivery times, while also working hard in their warehouse under new social-distancing guidelines, to maximise the storage space they have for products.

Mr Luper, chief executive, said: “Our suppliers are really going above and beyond to get goods to us much quicker than usual which has allowed us to keep selling.

“We are taking more and more orders every day, and even though our customers will have to wait a month or so for delivery now, I think given we’ve all realised as a nation that we’re not going anywhere for the foreseeable, they’re happy to wait a few weeks as they know they’ll make the most of the spas as soon as they arrive.”

The business has had to rapidly ramp up its operations and logistics processes as it gears up to meet demand working with local North East logistics provider The Storage Place and order fulfilment solution Veeqo.

Recognising that their success is one of few positive stories being talked about at the moment, the pair will be donating a percentage of its sales to NHS charities and offering a 10% discount for all NHS staff.

Mr Luper said: “When sales started to go through the roof, we instantly wanted to give back any way we could and we’re hoping that by providing key workers with a discount code and donating a percentage of our sales to the NHS we will be doing just that. All NHS staff need to do is provide us with ID and we will provide them with a discount code.”

Mr Jeffrey, who is managing director, said: “The past few months have been incredible and we’ve had to really ramp up our operational model and work around the clock to make sure our products are getting out to customers as soon and as safely as possible.

“It has been an enormous challenge but one we’re hugely grateful for in the current climate.”

The surge in sales will also allow the business to target international markets sooner than it had anticipated, with ecommerce websites for four more countries already being planned with its technology partner, Aero Commerce.

Mr Jeffrey added: “Using the Aero Commerce platform has been undoubtedly been key to our success, with super quick page load times of sub two seconds, conversion rates of over 2% and the ability to handle intense traffic without seeing performance issues has enabled the site to meet demand.

“We are working with the team on a number of exciting developments and plan to move our sister site over to the platform as soon as possible.”